Iran’s Police Seize over A Ton of Illicit Drugs in Southeast Province
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces managed to seize more than 1,000 kilograms of illicit drugs and arrest eight smugglers with criminal backgrounds in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, the provincial police chief announced.
Following round-the-clock intelligence activities, police forces in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Balouchestan Province, identified the hideout of an armed drug-trafficking gang attempting to transit a big haul of illicit drugs, General Hossein Rahimi said on Tuesday.
In a surprise operation, the forces arrested five smugglers and seized 716 kg of opium and seven kg of hashish, he stated.
During another operation south of the province, the police managed to arrest three drug traffickers and seize 273 kg of opium, 32 kg of hashish, along with two handguns, General Hossein Rahimi went on to say.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past three decades.
The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past 38 years.
