Iran Nabs Drug Kingpin in Border Region
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Police forces in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan have captured the ringleader of a drug trafficking gang that was also involved in illegal arms trade and abduction, an official said.
Following months of extensive intelligence activities, the police forces in the southeastern border town of Saravan launched a raid on the hideout of the drug cartel’s ringleader on Monday, the provincial police commander, General Mohammad Qanbari said.
The drug kingpin has been involved not only in trafficking more than 100 tons of narcotics, but also in several armed clashes with security forces, a number of kidnappings, and trade in light and heavy weapons.
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 four decades.