TEHRAN, Jul. 24 (MNA) – The commander of Sistan and Baluchestan police announced the confiscation of over 1.5 tons of illicit drugs during an armed clash between the anti-narcotics police and smugglers in the southeast of Iran.

Brigadier General Ahmad Taheri said on Sunday that the province's anti-narcotics police identified and dismantled a drug trafficking team who sought to transfer a large consignment of narcotics to central provinces in Iran.

A total of 1 ton and 680 kg of opium were seized from the smugglers, General Ahmad Taheri said.

10 smugglers were also detained by the police and 6 vehicles were seized, he added.

The anti-narcotics operations were launched in the province's cities of Zahedan, Saravan, Iranshahr, Hirmand, and Hamon, according to Taheri.

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.

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