ISIS Receiving Up to $1 Billion Annually From Post-US Afghan Heroin Trafficking

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization is receiving upwards of $1 billion in profit annually for deliveries of Afghan heroin, the head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) said Friday.“According to our figures, the IS is receiving up to $1 billion annually for delivering Afghan heroin,” Viktor Ivanov said.

In November, the FSKN stated that half of all heroin delivered to Europe through destabilized Iraq and some African countries is being transferred by IS militants. Drug smuggling is a renewable source of funding for the insurgent group, the watchdog suggested.

In addition, drug routes across the Gulf of Aden to the African continent have encouraged the organization of numerous pirate gangs, the FSKN said in the same statement.The Islamic State, a Sunni extremist group, has fought against the Syrian government, capturing large areas in Syria and Iraq. The group is notorious for numerous human rights abuses, including abductions and killings.

The US-led international coalition, comprising over 60 countries, began an air campaign against the militants in Iraq in August 2014, later spreading the bombing to Syria.