With the Taliban’s takeover of large swathes of Afghanistan, the group is poised to take control of the country’s billion-dollar opium and heroin trade. Afghanistan is the world’s largest illicit opiate supplier, with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimating the country accounts for 80 percent of global opium and heroin supply. Since taking power in Kabul, the group has indicated it will move to ban the drug trade. But as the Taliban looks to secure cash flow to sustain a new regime, analysts believe that the country’s already bustling drug trade will continue to grow. Covert Narcotics  The Taliban has leveraged the illicit opium and heroin trade for its own economic gain since the group formed and rose to power in the early-to-mid 1990s. “The Taliban considers themselves devout Muslims. But, when it comes to cultivating and exporting opium, they don’t have an issue,” said Terry …