KABUL, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Personnel of counter-narcotics police have foiled attempts to smuggle illegal drugs and seized more than 200 kg of opium in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni province, said a statement of the provincial police office on Thursday.

Security force members check a vehicle at a checkpoint in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan on Jan. 6, 2023. The Afghan counter-narcotics police destroyed a drug processing lab and arrested two persons on the charge of involvement in the drug business in Afghanistan's northern Badakhsahn province on Wednesday, reported the state-run Bakhtar news agency (BNA) on Thursday. (Photo: Xinhua)

The smugglers were attempting to smuggle 215 kg of opium from the northern Takhar province to the southern Helmand province via Ghazni, the statement said, adding that police discovered the contraband from a car during routine checking of vehicles and confiscated it early Thursday.

The statement did not say if anyone had been arrested. However, it warned of taking stern action against anyone who produces illegal drugs or traffics the menace.