Publish Date: 4 January 2021 - 21:00

TEHRAN, Jan. 04 (MNA) – Police forces of the Sistan and Baluchestan province, southeastern Iran, have seized over one ton of illicit drugs in a single operation.

The Police Chief of Sistan and Baluchistan Province Second Brigadier General Ahmad Taheri made the announcement on Monday noting that after intelligence operations, the anti-narcotics police forces busted 1843 kilograms of opium in Mehrestan County.

Two offenders 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 trafficking originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.

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