AFGHANISTAN IS WORLD'S BIGGEST SUPPLIER OF DRUGS

KABUL - Despite efforts to fight heroin production in Afghanistan, a
UN report this week is expected to show the country has become the
biggest supplier of illicit drugs in the world.

The latest figures will show the war-torn country has overtaken
Colombia as the most prolific dealer.

The report, due out on Thursday, from the UN Office of Drug and Crime,
however, exposes a huge rise in the cultivation of opium poppies --
the raw ingredient for making heroin.

The situation contrasts sharply with Colombia, where a large
U.S.-backed fumigation campaign has cut production of the coca plant.

On a visit to the Colombian capital, Bogota, last week, Antonio Maria
Costa, the UN drug office's executive director, said that Afghanistan
was now the biggest overall narcotics producer although Colombia was
still the main source of cocaine.

UN estimates earlier this year showed Afghan opium production to have
soared since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, generating $2.3 billion
U.S. -- more than half the nation's GDP -- last year. Poverty-stricken
farmers can earn up to $15,000 from a year's harvest.