Iranian Police Seize 319 Tons of Illicit Drugs in about 5 Months


Iranian Police Seize 319 Tons of Illicit Drugs in about 5 Months

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The deputy head of Iran’s Anti-Drug Headquarters announced that about 319,000 kilograms of various kinds of illicit drugs have been captured across the country since the beginning of the current Iranian year, which started on March 21.

Over the past four months and three weeks, about 319 tons of narcotics were seized from smugglers, 18,881 kilograms of which were captured last week, Brigadier General Assadollah Hadinejad said on Saturday.  

The commander added that the seizures in the current year have increased by 3 percent compared to the same period last year.

He further said opium constituted 92 percent of the drug seizures over the past week, amounting to 17,364 kg.

The official went on to say that the seizures include 919 kg hashish, 132 kg heroin, 81 kg morphine, 40 kg crystal meth, 1,965 kg precursors, 7,742 psychedelic pills and 343 kilograms of other types of illicit drugs.

 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 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 four decades.

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