Millions In U.S. Funds Spent On Border Equipment In Afghanistan That No Longer Works

In 2006, the U.S. military purchased $12.1 million worth of inspection equipment for five border posts in Afghanistan in an effort to crack down on illicit drug smuggling and boost customs duty revenues to the Afghan government.

After operation, training and maintenance costs, the total investment for the equipment to date is estimated at up to $62.6 million.

However, according to a new report, the equipment is now sitting "inoperable and unused" at four of the five locations. At three of them, officials told inspectors that the equipment had not been operational for at least two years.

The report was issued by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR – a military agency tasked by Congress to audit U.S. spending in Afghanistan.

Drug smuggling is a rampant problem in Afghanistan and a primary source of funding for the Taliban, as NPR's Tom Bowman has reported. The U.S. is preparing to send hundreds more military advisors to the country next year and has recently bombed opium processing plants.

The amount of narcotics produced in Afghanistan continues to rise – and as SIGAR reported in October, "the estimated value of opiates produced in Afghanistan nearly doubled from $1.56 billion in 2015 to $3.02 billion in 2016." It said the U.S. has sunk at least $8.6 billion into counter-narcotics efforts in Afghanistan. - Read More, NPR

Millions In U.S. Funds Spent On Border Equipment In Afghanistan That No Longer Works

SIGAR | Quarterly Reports - Special Inspector General for Afghanistan ...

October 30, 2017 Quarterly Report to Congress - Special Inspector ...