Herat, Mar 1 (IANS): At least 60 drug addicts have recovered and have been reunited with their families in western Afghanistan's Herat province, head of counter-narcotics for the province Mawlawi Hayatullah Rohani said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters here, the official said that the police rounded up 1,500 drug addicts three months ago and shifted them to the central prison in the provincial capital for treatment, Xinhua news agency reported.

Noting that the addicted persons were not criminals, Rohani said they had been kept in prison to receive medical treatment and not punishment.

However, he added those smuggling drugs or providing them to people would be punished and police have arrested 107 persons on the charge of selling drugs in Herat city over the past month.

Rehabilitation of a drug addict requires at least six months, the official said, adding fortunately 60 out of 1,500 addicts in Herat prison have recovered and have been sent to their homes.