Police Seize over 1.2 Tons of Illicit Drugs in Central Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces have managed to capture more than 1,200 kilograms of various kinds of illicit drugs in the central province of Isfahan, a provincial police commander announced on Monday.
Brigadier General Mehdi Masoumbeigi said that following round-the-clock intelligence activities, the anti-narcotics police forces of the Isfahan Province managed to identify two professional drug gangs that intended to transit a big haul of illicit drugs through the province’s roads.
In an operation code-named “Zafar (Victory) 19”, the police forces managed to arrest all seven members of the two gangs and seize 1,267 kilograms of narcotics, he stated.
The police also captured a passenger bus and two sedan cars, carrying the illicit drugs, which include 1,249 kg of opium, 16 kg of hashish and one kg of heroin, the commander noted.
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.