Pubdate: Sat, 06 Oct 2001
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia Web)
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Copyright: 2001 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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AFGHAN OPPOSITION HARVESTS MORE OPIUM THAN TALIBAN: UN

The United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention says it 
believes most of the opium grown in Afghanistan is now in areas controlled 
by the Northern Alliance.

However, the Vienna-based agency says the Taliban is still an active player 
in the world drug market.

Opium, the raw ingredient that eventually becomes heroin, has been funding 
war in Afghanistan for decades.

The UN says the Northern Alliance has now become the biggest grower of 
opium in the region.

The agency estimates that 150 tonnes of opium was harvested in areas under 
Northern Alliance control this year.

The figure is well short of the 3,300 tonnes harvested in Taliban 
controlled territory last year.

The Taliban regime banned opium production in areas of the country it 
controlled in an effort to run down its estimated stock pile of nearly 
3,000 tonnes earlier this year.

The UN drugs office says the Taliban has been flooding the world market 
with its surplus in the past few months.

As a result, heroin is becoming cheaper than ever.
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