Police Seize over 2.4 Tons of Illicit Drugs in SE Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s police forces have managed to capture 2,424 kilograms of various kinds of illicit drugs during two operations in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, a provincial police commander announced.
In a recent operation backed by the anti-narcotics police, the law enforcement forces of Saravan in Sistan and Balouchestan Province managed to identify a major drug ring that had intended to transit a big haul of illicit drugs, Brigadier General Mohammad Qanbari said, the official news website of police reported on Thursday.
After several weeks of monitoring the gang’s activities, the police forces identified their vehicles and clashed with the armed smugglers, he added.
In the operation, the forces arrested five drug dealers and captured three vehicles and 1,274 kg of opium, 14 kg of crack, 14 kg of heroin as well as weapons and ammunition, the commander stated.
Brigadier General Qanbari went on to say that in another operation in Nikshahr, in the same province, the police managed to capture 1,101 kg of opium, 4 kg of hashish, 2 kg of morphine, and 15 kg of other types of illicit drugs.
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.