New Delhi, March 12 -- Afghanistan is witnessing a surge in opium prices and the 'massive profits' from it are being reaped by criminal gangs, United Nations' drugs watchdog has flagged. But why are opium prices in Afghanistan soaring suddenly?

The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have imposed a poppy cultivation ban in the land locked Asian country. Previously the world's biggest opium producer, Afghanistan has seen a steep decline in output since the ban.

In 2024, opium prices reached Rs.65,486 per kilogram, a tenfold growth from Rs.6,535 per kilogram in 2022 when the Taliban government banned poppy growing, the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a statement.

According to the US watchdog, while Taliban bannin...