Major Drug Rings Disbanded South of Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Intelligence Ministry forces smashed two drug rings in the country’s southern provinces, confiscating large hauls of narcotics.
In an operation in the coastal province of Hormozgan in southern Iran, the intelligence forces seized 1,660 kg of opium hidden in a truck carrying rice and arrested the smugglers.
In another operation in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, the intelligence agents have disbanded a drug ring after a 2-hour-long exchange of fire with the drug dealers.
One smuggler was killed and the other gang members were arrested in the operation, which resulted in the confiscation of 2.2 tons of opium, a heavy machine gun, an AK-47 rifle and ammunition.
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 war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.