Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchestan province Second Brigadier General Mohammad Ghanbari said on Saturday that the big consignment was captured after a series of intelligence operations and during a clash between the antinarcotics force and a gang attempting to smuggle the drugs into the country through Sib va Sooran County.
According to the police chief, some 1.629 tons of opium and 204 kilograms of crystal have been seized during the operation.
Three criminals and one vehicle along with a number of different weapons were captured in this regard, he added.
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/IRN 83675276