The Taliban taxes opium farming and manufacturing. It’s believed to be a significant source of revenue for them.
But, China probably still has the upper hand in the opiate business here, because fentanyl is far easier to smuggle.
But, China probably still has the upper hand in the opiate business here, because fentanyl is far easier to smuggle.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanis...
> The opium trade spiked in 2006 after the Taliban lost control of local warlords
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/investigations/...
> Ironically, the only power that has demonstrated an ability to cripple the Afghan drug industry is the Taliban.
> In July 2000, when the Taliban controlled most of the country, its reclusive one-eyed leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, declared that opium was un-Islamic and imposed a ban on growing poppies.
> Much to the surprise of the rest of the world, the ban worked. Afraid to cross the Taliban, Afghan farmers immediately ceased planting poppies. The United Nations estimated that poppy cultivation plunged by 90 percent from 2000 to 2001.
In bad years, they don't expect any taxes.
(It does look like the Taliban has lightened up a bit, but time will tell. Every news station is bashing every aspect of the Taliban.)