By Abdul Haleem, Zhang Yunlong

    KABUL, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan government in its counter-narcotics war has seized 450 million U.S. dollars worth of illicit drug, the biggest ever amount in years, from the country's poppy growing southern region, an official said Wednesday.

    "The Counter-Narcotics police in its achievements against drug have seized 241 tons of contraband from southern region and arrested 16 drug traffickers," deputy to the interior ministry Abdul Hadi Khalid told a press conference here.

    More than five tons of opium poppy was found from Baramcha area of southern Helmand province and 13 smugglers including seven Pakistanis and four Iranians have been detained in the regard, Khalid said.

    Some 236 tons of illegal drug including hashish were confiscated from Spinboldak area of neighboring Kandahar and three traffickers have been taken into custody, the official said.

    He added the huge amount of drug was seized over the past 10 days in different operations.

    Moreover, Afghan police foiled an attempt of taking 5.2 kg of heroin from Kabul to New Delhi and arrested a passenger at the Kabul Airport, a press release of the interior ministry said Wednesday.

    Afghanistan, with an output of 8,200 tons of opium poppy in 2007, is the largest poppy growing nation in the world.

    Widespread poppy cultivation and drug smuggling in the post-Taliban nation especially in its remote southern regions has reportedly financed much of the Taliban-led insurgency and sparked mounting worry and criticism among the United States and the western world.

    The Taliban, fighting the Afghan government and international forces since being ousted from power in 2001, has since waged a years-long insurgency and militancy-related violence and conflicts left as many as 8,000 people dead last year, a record high since 2001.

    Afghan officials optimistically predicted that poppy products would drop this year as 21 out of the country's 34 provinces have been made free of poppy and the effort to eradicate the menace in the remaining regions is going on.