The Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchistan Province Second Brigadier General Ahmad Taheri broke the news on Sunday, saying that Saravan and Khash anti-narcotics police forces, with the technical and intelligence support of the province's anti-narcotics police, identified members of an armed and organized smuggling gang who were planning to transfer two large consignments of illicit drugs from these cities to the center of the country.
The police forces carried out a series of specialized actions and surrounded the smugglers in Saravan, he added, saying that the smugglers fled the scene when they found themselves ambushed and surrounded by police forces.
According to Taheri, during the operation, two smugglers were arrested and 647 kilograms of opium, along with a handgun and some ammunition, were found in the confiscated vehicles.
In another operation carried out in Khash, the anti-narcotics police arrested three smugglers and seized 1.205 tons of opium, he said.
The police chief went on to say that a vehicle also seized in this operation in addition to the confiscation of some weapons and ammunition.
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.
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.
ZZ/IRN84163155