4534. AFGHANISTAN. OPIUM. SOLDATS CANADIENS, ANGLAIS, US ?

DES SOLDATS BRITANNIQUES SOUPÇONNÉS DE TRAFIC D'HÉROÏNE AFGHANE

12 septembre 2010
Agence France-Presse
Londres
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/international/moyen-orient/201009/12/01-4314859-des-soldats-britanniques-soupconnes-de-trafic-dheroine-afghane.php

Source: http://sergeadam.blogspot.com/2010/09/afghanistan-soldats-britanniques.html

Selon ces «allégations dénuées de preuves», des militaires britanniques auraient acheté de l'héroïne et utilisé des avions militaires pour la sortir d'Afghanistan, a ajouté lé ministère.

La police militaire britannique mène une enquête sur «des allégations» affirmant que des soldats britanniques se livrent en Afghanistan au trafic d'héroïne et qu'ils sortent de la drogue du pays, a annoncé dimanche le ministère britannique de la Défense.

Selon ces «allégations dénuées de preuves», des militaires britanniques auraient acheté de la drogue et utilisé des avions militaires pour la sortir d'Afghanistan, a ajouté lé ministère.

Des soldats britanniques stationnés aux aéroports de Camp Bastion et de Kandahar (sud) font l'objet d'une enquête. La sécurité a été renforcée et des chiens renifleurs supplémentaires mis à contribution.

«Bien qu'elles soient dénuées de preuves, nous prenons très au sérieux toutes les informations de ce type et avons d'ores et déjà renforcé les procédures existantes tant en Afghanistan qu'au Royaume-Uni, y compris le recours accru à des chiens renifleurs entraînés», a indiqué une porte-parole du ministère.

S'il s'avère que des soldats britanniques se sont livrés à un trafic de drogue, ils subiront les foudres de la justice, a-t-elle promis.

L'Afghanistan est le plus important producteur d'héroïne dans le monde.

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TROOPS HEROIN TRAFFICKING CLAIM INVESTIGATED BY MOD

Sunday 12 September 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/12/troops-heroin-trafficking-claim-investigated

Security around forces tightened after dealers in Afghanistan claim that soldiers are shipping drugs out in military aircraft

Military police are investigating claims that British soldiers have been involved in heroin trafficking in Afghanistan. The Ministry of Defence said it was aware of "unsubstantiated" claims that troops were buying the drug from dealers and shipping it out of the country in military aircraft. An inquiry is focusing on British and Canadian personnel at airports in Camp Bastion and Kandahar. Security has been tightened, with additional sniffer dogs being used. Afghanistan is the source of 90% of the world's opium. Some drug bosses in the country have implicated soldiers in the trade.

Last year the Sunday Times spoke to one dealer who said members of the military were the second largest buyers of heroin after foreign drug lords. The newspaper was told: "The soldiers whose term of duty is about to finish, they give an order to our boss." A team of detectives from the Ministry of Defence's special investigations branch is believed to be heading the investigation into the claims.

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BRITISH SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN FACE HEROIN SMUGGLING INVESTIGATION

13 September 2010
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/british-soldiers-suspected-of-smuggling-heroin-out-of-afghanistan-into-uk-14947146.html

UK military police are investigating claims that British troops may have been involved in smuggling heroin out of Afghanistan and into Britain, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

Officials said they were aware of "unsubstantiated" claims that troops were buying the illegal drug from dealers and using military aircraft to ship it out the country.

An inquiry has been launched focusing on British and Canadian service personnel at airports in Camp Bastion and Kandahar.

An MoD spokeswoman said: "We are aware of these allegations.

"Although they are unsubstantiated, we take any such reports very seriously and we have already tightened our existing procedures both in Afghanistan and in the UK, including through increasing the use of trained sniffer dogs.

"We regret any inconvenience this causes to our service personnel. Any of our people found to be engaged in trafficking of illegal narcotics will feel the full weight of the law."

Security has been tightened, with additional sniffer dogs being used as part of the crackdown at the bases.

Some drug bosses in the war-ravaged country have implicated soldiers in the trade.

Last year the Sunday Times spoke to one dealer who said members of the military were the second largest buyers of heroin after foreign drug lords.

The newspaper was told: "The soldiers whose term of duty is about to finish, they give an order to our boss."

The dealer, named only as Aziz, added: "They are carrying these drugs in the military airlines and they can't be reached because they are military. They can take it to the USA or England."

A team of detectives from the Ministry of Defence's special investigations branch is believed to be heading the investigation into the claims.

Afghanistan is the source of 90% of the world's opium with annual exports worth up to three billion dollars .

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MOD PROBES CLAIM THAT SOLDIERS ARE SMUGGLING HEROIN FROM AFGHANISTAN

By Daily Mail Reporter

12th September 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1311360/Military-police-investigate-claims-British-troops-Afghanistan-involved-heroin-trafficking.html#

Soldiers returning from Afghanistan are being subjected to rigorous security checks amid claims that some are involved in heroin trafficking.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed last night that military police were investigating a tip-off alleging that soldiers sent to fight the Taliban were buying drugs from Afghan dealers and shipping them back to Britain.

The claim is that heroin and other drugs are being smuggled in by a handful of the hundreds of soldiers returning each week to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

As military detectives launched the probe, Army chiefs ordered checks to be stepped up at the airbase.

Now all returning personnel are being subjected to greater use of sniffer dogs, body and luggage searches, and covert monitoring.

While defence officials apologised for the inevitable inconvenience to troops returning from duties in Afghanistan, they warned of the consequences for any soldiers who might be involved in drug-smuggling.

MoD officials confirmed that the tougher security would remain in force while ‘unsubstantiated’ claims that troops were buying illegal drugs and using military aircraft to ship them home were thoroughly investigated.

‘We are aware of these allegations,’ said a spokesman. ‘Although they are unsubstantiated, we take any such reports very seriously and we have already tightened existing procedures in Afghanistan and in the UK.

‘We regret any inconvenience this causes to our service personnel.

‘Any of our people found to be engaged in trafficking of illegal narcotics will feel the full weight of the law.’

It is believed that the inquiry is focused on British and Canadian personnel at airports in Camp Bastion and Kandahar.

Afghanistan is the source of 90 per cent of the world’s opium, the raw extract from poppies which is refined into heroin.

The vast majority of the Afghan opium crop is cultivated in Helmand province, the centre of combat operations for British and other allied forces.