British and Afghan counter-narcotics officers have found and destroyed a massive stockpile of 237 tonnes of hashish with a wholesale value of £205 million.

The Afghan National Police Special Task Force received a tip-off on Monday morning about a possible drugs hoard some 25 miles from the border with Pakistan in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar Province.

The task force found the drugs cache hidden in three trenches.

"There was a recce to the site to get a grip on how large the cache was," said an ISAF spokesman. "Then, in the evening, they set it on fire. Most of those involved in the breakthrough were on the Afghan side but there were British troops too since the UK is focused on counter-narcotics."

By the evening they had burned all 236.8 metric tonnes of hashish.

"The growing season is over and the trading season is just getting going," said the spokesman. He added that there had been an increase in hashish trading following the anti-opium policy.

Nato hailed the drugs swipe as a significant victory against the Taleban. A large portion of the world's opium comes from Afghanistan, and the Taleban is thought to use opium sales and smuggling to buy weapons.

“With this single find, they have seriously crippled the Taleban’s ability to purchase weapons that threaten the safety and security of the Afghan people and the region," said General David McKiernan, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) commander.

“The Afghan National Police Special Task Force has made a huge step forward in proving its capability in curbing the tide of illegal drug trade in this country."

The hashish weighed approximately the same as 30 double-decker buses. ISAF officials estimate the Taliban would have pocketed around £7 million from the sale of the drugs.

“We, here at the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, note the continuing improvements and professionalism of our Afghanistan National Police,” said Lieutenant General Ab-Hadi Khalid, Afghan Deputy Interior Minister.

“It is due to the education and training they are receiving through the help of the international community.”

The Ministry of Interior also reported that in a separate recent counter-narcotics operation in Helmand province, the Afghan National Police seized about 5,108 grams of opium, with an estimated value of £15 million, and arrested 13 drug dealers.

“The international community will continue to support the Afghan forces with more of the same training and support that helped them achieve such success in this mission,” said General McKiernan.

NATO-led and British forces called the incident the biggest narcotics haul in history.

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