The Police Chief of East of Tehran, Kiumars Azizi said on Monday that following comprehensive intelligence operations, police forces of Tehran and Kerman provinces confiscated 240 kilograms of opium in a joint operation.
Four smugglers have also been arrested and handed to the judiciary, he added.
Based on the United Nations reports, Afghanistan ranks first as the producer of opium and heroin in the world. Iran, being Afghanistan's neighbor, has always been the main route for smuggling narcotics to the Western world.
Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking and thousands of Iranian forces have been so far martyred to protect the world from the danger of drugs.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past decades.
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.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.
FA/IRN 83886490