Police Chief of Semnan province, Second Brigadier General Abdollah Hassani made the announcement on Saturday, saying that following extensive intelligence operations, the police forces of Semnan province were informed of the activities of members of a large drug-trafficking gang in the province.
8 smugglers have been arrested in this regard in addition to the confiscation of 510 kilograms of opium, he added.
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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