Police Chief of Sistan and Balouchestan province Brigadier General Mohammad Ghanbari said the big consignment was captured during a midnight battle between the antinarcotics force and a gang attempting to smuggle the drugs into the country in Saravan border regions.
The busted consignment contained 2,425 kilograms of opium, 34.4 kilograms of morphine, 23.4 kilograms of hashish, 2.2 kilograms of heroin and 122.45 kilograms of other narcotics, he said.
General Ghanbari added that two offenders were detained, and some weapons, including two AK47 rifles and an RPG launcher, were confiscated by the police after an hour of escape and pursuit.
The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past three decades, despite its high economic and human costs. The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades. The country has spent more than hundreds of millions of dollars on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
MNA/4614571