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July 02, 2009
MoD confuses mung beans with opium poppy seeds
There was recently a big Ministry of Defence press splash about a seizure of so-called poppy seeds in Afghanistan. However, it turns out that
the soldiers had captured nothing more than a giant pile of mung beans, a staple pulse eaten in curries across Afghanistan.Embarrassed British officials have now admitted that their triumph has turned sour and have promised to return the legal crop to its rightful owner.
Worringly, the Guardian also reports that
The pulses also fooled Colonel General Khodaidad, Afghanistan's minister of counter-narcotics, even though the spherical black beans, about the size of small ball bearings, looked nothing like poppy seeds. When shown the mung beans by the Guardian, he said they were a strain of "super poppy".
The 'war on drugs' is problematic for a whole range of complex reasons, but this type of basic error clearly does not inspire confidence. It is a funny story, of course, but the Guardian article ends by reminding us of some more serious issues:
If indeed the sacks did contain 1.3 tonnes of mung beans, then they would have a street value of $1,300 – not much, but a major blow to any farmer if the British had followed procedures and destroyed the beans.
This type of bizarre decision to confiscate food - in the belief it is actually drug-related seeds - cannot be helpful in winning local support. I hope that - as well as getting their mung beans back - the rightful owner has received a suitable apology, alongside compensation for their trouble.
Posted by jon_mendel at July 2, 2009 12:38 PM
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