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Troops will Target Drugs Stockpile
Sunday September 30, 2001
By Kamal Ahmed / The Observer political editor

Downing Street fears the Taliban will flood the West with £20 billion worth of heroin

American and British troops are to target a £20 billion stockpile of opium and heroin which intelligence officials believe is about to be released onto the world market by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban authorities.

Intelligence documents circulating in Downing Street say that bin Laden and the Taliban will use money made from the trade to fund any war against the West.

It is believed that there are up to 3,000 tonnes of opium in secret bunkers across the north and west of Afghanistan. Such a large amount could be used to manufacture up to 300 tonnes of heroin, enough to supply the British drugs trade for 10 years.
(More: The Guardian News Source)
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001

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