General Abdul Hakim from the Ministry of Interior (MoI) investigation department on Monday announced that a number of police officers on the Kabul-Kandahar highway were arrested in connection with extortion charges.
The announcement comes just days after media attention was drawn to the work of police along the troubled highway when a video capturing an officer extorting money from a driver went viral.
"On the basis of people's complaints, a joint commission was formed to prevent extortions by police officers on the Kabul-Kandahar highway and on Sunday night, a number of police officers were detained along the Kabul-kandahar route," Hakim said.
The MoI responded to the controversial video that went public earlier this week, and said that the officers implicated in it were fired from their jobs several months before.
"Our demand from the police officers is that they serve the people and prevent abuse," Hakim said. "Any police officers found guilty of extortion will be tried according to the prevailing laws of the country."
Hakim reported that a joint commission, consisting members from eight different ministries, was formed to further evaluate the issue.
