Police Smashes 85 Drug Trafficking Rings West of Capital in 11 Months
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian law enforcement forces have smashed 85 rings involved in drug-trafficking activities west of Tehran province, and seized over 8 tons of narcotics in the region in the last 11 months, a commander of Tehran’s police announced Tuesday.
In a press conference on Tuesday, General Nasser Aslani said that the number of drug trafficking rings busted in the past 11 months has reached 85, showing an increase of 30 percent compared with the last year.
General Aslani also referred to the seizure of 8 tons of different types of drugs in the capital city in the past 11 months, saying that the figure is 9 percent higher than that of the same period in previous year.
He went on to say that Police forces in Tehran province have managed to destroy 15 major drug trafficking rings, and to seize 1.5 tons of various illicit drugs such as methamphetamine, opium, and heroin within the past 2 months.
Earlier in February, Iranian Anti-Narcotics Police Chief General Ali Moayedi announced that Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces have seized 445 tons of different types of illicit drugs in the country over the past 11 months.
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.
