The police Chief of Mazandaran Province the second Brigadier General Mahmood Mirfeizi said that the amount of the illegal drugs seized by Iranian police forces has increased by 14 percent in comparison to the same time last year.
A total of 11,368 smugglers and culprits have been arrested and 45 trafficking bands dismantled in various operations in the province, he added.
According to the police chief, 768 vehicles have been seized in the same period.
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/ 4810599