Deputy Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchestan Province Second Brigadier General Ahmad Taheri made the announcement on Monday, saying that the police forces of the province have confiscated 87.200 tons of various kinds of drugs in the first six months of the current Iranian year (March 20 - September 21).
35 drug-trafficking band have been dismantled in this period, he added, saying that 17 smugglers were killed and 61 weapons and ammunitions seized during the operations.
According to Taheri, 407 vehicles were seized in this regard and 6,798 people related to drug crimes were arrested and handed to judiciary officials.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
The country 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.
Iran has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab, and Central Asian countries.
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