Taliban hoards heroin surplus like savings accounts

The United Nations' drugs czar told Nato that Afghan insurgents were withholding thousands of tonnes of heroin and treating their drugs like "savings accounts" to manipulate street prices in the west, according to a leaked US cable.

Antonio Maria Costa, head of the UN's office on drugs and crime, told Nato representatives that the Taliban and organised crime gangs had withheld 12,400 tonnes of opium from the international market to keep the price of heroin and opium at a profitable level. The opium allegedly withheld by insurgents was worth around $1.25bn. Each tonne of opium is said to be worth around $100,000 and can be used to produce 100kg of heroin.

The US cable appears to show that the UN believed that the Taliban and other insurgents in Afghanistan were well-organised, aware of the market and focused on maintaining a viable price for the drug...

Under the heading "Opium Stocks Remain High", the cable states: "Costa said that Afghanistan has 12,400 tonnes of opium stocks because it produces more than the world consumes. Costa believes that the insurgency is withholding these stocks from the market and treating them like ‘savings accounts'. He said the stocks pose a serious threat as it could be used to finance the insurgency. Costa encourage intelligence organizations to to keep focus on the storage and movement of Afghanistan's opium stocks."

[Thanks Mr. Tumnus!]