MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. The production of opiates in Afghanistan has surged more than 40-fold over the two decades of US military presence there, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said on Wednesday.

Addressing the 5th multilateral meeting of security officials covering Afghanistan, Patrushev pointed to Washington’s role in the spike of illegal drug trafficking in Afghanistan.

"Since 2001, when Operation Enduring Freedom was launched, and until NATO contingents fled Afghanistan in 2021, narcotics production in the country rocketed by over 40-fold," Patrushev underscored.