URMIA, Oct. 30 (MNA) – The anti-narcotics police of the West Azarbaijan, the northwestern Iranian province linking the country to Europe, have busted a total of 11,000 kilograms of different illicit drugs in the past seven months to October 22.

Police Chief of West Azerbaijan province, Brigadier General Masoud Khorram-Nia made the announcement, saying the seizure of illicit drugs in the province has witnessed a 40% growth in comparison with the corresponding period of last year.

He noted that the culprits were mainly trying to smuggle their consignment into Europe through the northwestern Iranian province.

Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking and thousands of Iranian forces have been so far martyred to protect the world from the danger of drugs.

According to reports, in 2018 alone, Iranian forces carried out 1,557 operations against drug traffickers, seizing approximately 807 tons of different types of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. According to the World Drug Report 2019 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2017, Iran had seized the largest quantity of opiates, accounting for 39% of the global total.

MNA/4759188