ZARANJ, Afghanistan, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Units of counter-narcotics police have foiled attempts to smuggle some 1,000 kg of illicit drugs and objects used in manufacturing heroin in western Afghanistan's Nimroz province, provincial director for counter-narcotics police Abdul Wasi Raihan said Saturday.

Without providing more details, the official admitted that no one had been arrested.

In similar operations, police apprehended a drug smuggler and discovered 66 kg opium poppy from his possession in Kang district of Nimroz province on Wednesday, district police chief Mawlawi Ahmad Sayed said.

The Afghan caretaker government, which has banned poppy cultivation, processing of drugs and drug trafficking, has vowed to fight the menace until the once-poppy growing country becomes a drug-free nation. ■