Iranian Police Seize over 900 kg of Opium, Morphine in Single Operation
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces managed to seize more than 900 kilograms of opium and morphine in a single operation in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, the provincial police chief announced on Tuesday.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said following round-the-clock efforts made by the anti-narcotics forces in the border city of Saravan, they identified a major drug ring that intended to smuggle a huge cargo of illicit drugs.
In an overnight operation, the police forces chased the smugglers and clashed with them, he said, adding that the drug traffickers soon realized they could not confront the forces and fled the scene.
General Rahimi went on to say that 875 kg of opium and 27 kg pf morphine were seized from the smugglers in the operation.
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 34 years.