KABUL, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Afghan counter-narcotics police have apprehended 16 drug smugglers and confiscated 872 kg of narcotics in western Afghanistan's Herat province over the past week, the Ministry of Interior Affairs said in a statement on Monday.

The seizure, including opium, heroin, hashish, and stimulant tablets, was made during routine operations in Herat city, the provincial capital and surrounding districts, according to the statement.

The Afghan interim government has intensified its efforts to combat illicit drugs and trafficking, pledging to eradicate poppy cultivation and the production of heroin-related substances to make the country drug-free. ■