Kabul: Taliban authorities have arrested five men, including two Chinese nationals, over alleged smuggling of lithium-bearing stones out of the country, media reports said on Tuesday.

In collaboration with their Afghan allies, two Chinese nationals were trying to smuggle precious stones from Afghanistan to China through Pakistan, Khaama Press reported.

Sources told the news agency that the rocks contained 30 percent lithium, extracted from Nuristan and Kunar, the two provinces sharing a border with Pakistan.

According to reports, the smugglers were arrested in Jalalabad.

Taliban intelligence personnel told Khaama Press that Chinese nationals in collaboration with their Afghan partners wanted to transport the precious stones to China via Pakistan while arrested.