Iran Seizes 550 Tons of Illicit Drugs in 7 Months: Official


Iran Seizes 550 Tons of Illicit Drugs in 7 Months: Official

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Secretary-General of Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Headquarters Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni said the country has managed to capture 550 tons of illicit drugs during the first seven months of the current Persian calendar year (March 2019 – March 2020).

Speaking to reporters in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, Momeni highlighted the Islamic Republic’s successful campaign on narcotics and said in the first seven months of the current Iranian year more than 550 tons of various kinds of illicit drugs have been seized.

The official further said that 154 tons of the seizures have been reported in Sistan and Balouchestan Province.

The capture of illicit drugs has increased by 16 percent compared to the same period last year, he said, adding that the seizures in the southeastern province have witnessed a 25% year-on-year increase.

Police and security forces have been quite successful in ensuring security in the Sistan and Balouchestan despite its long borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, harsh weather and vast desert areas.

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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