Second Brigadier General Mohammad Ghanbari, the Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchestan said on Monday that the anti-narcotics police forces of Iranshahr have identified and dismantled a drug-trafficking band who had intended to transfer big consignments of narcotics to the central parts of Iran from eastern borders.
Following an armed clash between the police and the smugglers in the rural regions of Iranshahr County, the anti-narcotics forces captured 3,087 kilograms of opium, he added.
Five vehicles have been seized in addition to confiscation of a number of weapons and ammunition, Ghanbari noted.
According to the police chief, three smugglers have been arrested in this regard and handed over to Judiciary officials.
He added that 913 kg of different illicit drugs have been also seized in another operation last night.
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.
The war on drug trade has also claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.
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