The Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchistan Province Second Brigadier General Ahmad Taheri said on Saturday that following the intelligence activities of the police forces of Saravan and Mehrestan counties, a drug-trafficking band who were planning to transfer two large consignments of illicit drugs to the center of the country have been identified and dismantled.
He added that the smugglers fled to the highlands of the area using the darkness of the night when they found themselves ambushed and surrounded by police forces.
According to the police chief, the police forces seized 1,716 kilograms of opium in addition to confiscation of some weapons and ammunition.
Two smugglers have been arrested in this regard, he said.
In another operation carried out in Mehrestan, the police forces arrested two smugglers and seized 377 kg of opium and some weapons, Taheri added.
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/IRN84170428