Publish Date: 7 March 2020 - 15:26

TEHRAN, Mar. 07 (MNA) – The police forces of Yazd province, central Iran, have seized over 1,100 kilograms of opium during separate operations in the past two days, said the police chief of the province.

According to Second Brigadier General Mohammadreza Mirheidari on Saturday, three separate operations in cities of Yazd, Bafgh, and Mehriz have led to the confiscation of these illicit drugs and the arrest of 14 smugglers.

He said that smugglers were planning to transfer the consignments to Tehran.

According to the commander, police forces of the province have confiscated around 31 tons of various illicit drugs in the current year [started on March 21, 2019].

These sorts of operations are usual for Iran which is a neighbor to the source of drugs, Afghanistan. The Islamic Republic has been combating drug-traffickers for the past decades despite high economic and human costs. The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.

MNA/ 4872325