He made the remarks on Tuesday in a meeting on narcotics in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan, southern province in Iran.
Some 800 tons of illegal drugs have been seized in the country in the first ten months of the current year (March 21-January 22), he said, adding that the figure indicates a 17% growth in comparison with the corresponding period of last year.
75% of drugs confiscations in the country were in the eastern and southeastern provinces, he noted.
According to the Head of Iran's Drug Control Headquarters, the rate of drug confiscation has increased by 9% in Hormozgan Province compared to the corresponding period last year.
The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trades originating from Afghanistan in the past four decades, despite its high economic and human costs. 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/4844395