Police Seize Huge Haul of Drugs in Eastern Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A complicated intelligence operation by Iran’s border police forces led to one of the biggest seizures of illicit drugs in a single day, a haul of opium and hashish weighing 2,238 kilograms.
The drugs were confiscated on November 4 in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, which borders Pakistan and also Afghanistan, the largest opium producer in the entire world.
According to General Ahamd Geravand, lieutenant commander of Iran’s Border Police, local forces in the border city of Saravan managed to stage a raid on drug traffickers following performing necessary intelligence activities.
The seized drugs included 1,810 kg of opium and 428 kg of hashish, noted the commander.
In recent decades, Iran has been hit by drug trafficking, mainly because of its 936- kilometer shared border with Afghanistan, which produces more than 90% of the world’s opium.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Islamic Republic is netting eight times more opium and three times more heroin than all other countries in the world combined.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 3,700 Iranian police officers over the past 30 years.