Mohammad Ismail, a district police chief in Helmand, says initial reports show the attack happened in Gareshk district.
He says the Taliban forced the vehicles to stop at gunpoint. It's not known where the Taliban have taken the abducted passengers.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yusouf Ahmadi says the insurgents still hold 27 of the abducted but freed the others.
Earlier this month, the Taliban killed 12 people they had captured, including policemen and soldiers, in eastern Ghazni province.