DARRA ADAMKHEL, July 16: Local Taliban on Sunday night set charas shops on fire and detained 18 shopkeepers for violating a ban on the sale of drugs in the Akhorwal area of Darra Adamkhel.

The Taliban went into action after midnight when a deadline banning the sale of drugs in the area expired. They locked up 18 shopkeepers in a room. Later they set their shops ablaze.

The Taliban had distributed pamphlets in the area instructing all drug dealers to wind up their business by July 1. Later, the deadline was extended by 15 days.

Sources said the Taliban woke the shopkeepers up in the middle of the night and detained them in a room after tying up their hands and feet. Later, they sprinkled petrol on their shops and burnt them.

The affected shopkeepers said they had lost millions of rupees in goods and cash.