International Deputy of Iran Drug Control Headquarters Nasser Aslani broke the news on Monday, saying that some 16.739 tons of illicit drugs consisting of 13.412 tons of opium and 1.314 tons of hashish, 717 kg of heroin, 355 kg of crystal, 468 kg of grass, and 473 kg of other kinds of drugs have been busted by police forces.
The figure indicates a 64 percent increase compared to the corresponding period last year (10,215 kg), he added.
Aslani noted that 70 percent of drug confiscation has been carried out in 7 Iranian provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, South Khorasan, Kerman, Yazd, Isfahan, Yazd and Khorasan Razavi.
He added that 4,690 smugglers have been arrested and 407 vehicles and some ammunition seized in the same period by police forces.
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.
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.
According to the World Drug Report 2019 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2017, Iran had seized the largest quantity of opiates, accounting for 39% of the global total.
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