Police Chief of West Azerbaijan province Colonel Shamsali Haghverdian said on Tuesday that 6.5 tons of illegal drugs have been seized by police force during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (starting March 21, 2019) in the province.
3,955 kilograms opium, 1,005 kilograms morphine, 260 kilograms heroin, 126 kilograms crystal, 104 kilograms hashish, and 34 kilograms cocaine were confiscated during the operations, he added.
According to the police chief, 69 drug gangs have been dismantled and 490 vehicles and 67 motorcycles seized in the same period.
The level of drug discoveries has increased by 100% compared to the corresponding period last year, he noted, adding that Urmia ranks first in this regard.
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.
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.
MNA/ 4831576