PESHAWAR, July 28: The Anti-Narcotics Force seized 53.5kg of heroin during the first half of the current year in the province and reduced poppy cultivation in the tribal areas, said ANF regional chief Brig Najmul Hassan Jamil.

Talking to this correspondent, Brig Jamil said 68.9kg of heroin was seized during last year.

Poppy cultivation had dropped from 5,468 acres in 2004 to 4,394 acres in 2005, he said, expressing the hope that it would come down further because of the help extended to the force by the provincial government.

He said the workload on the ANF in the province had increased because of production of heroin in large quantity in Afghanistan as Afghan drug smugglers were using the region to send the contraband abroad.

According to the figures provided by the official, the ANF seized 53.5kg of heroin, 1,447.7kg of hashish and 55.27kg of opium in the province during the current year.

It arrested 41 alleged drug smugglers, seized six vehicles in the smuggling and registered cases against 31 people. It seized 948 bottles of liquor and a large quantity of arms and ammunition.

Poppy has not been sown in Kurram Agency, Kohat Frontier Region, Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan FR, Buner, Chitral and Mardan during the last two seasons.

The ANF with the help of the law enforcement agencies and political administrations nabbed 551 people on charges of cultivating poppy and registered 374 cases against them.

Brig Jamil said the ANF had provided 146 beds to drug addicts in 15 hospitals in the province and recruited 96 people for their treatment. He said 12 non-government organizations had provided 325 beds and 160 employees for the purpose.

He said the ANF in collaboration with the NGOs provided treatment to 1,294 addicts during first five months of the current year.