Chief of Judicial Department of Fars Province Hojatoleslam Seyyed Kazem Mousavi said on Sunday that following comprehensive intelligence activities, anti-narcotics forces have identified and dismantled a drug gang that distributed opium.
A consignment was discovered during the operation which had entered Shiraz from the eastern provinces, he added.
One smuggler has been seized in this regard, in addition to confiscation of 426 kilograms of opium, he noted.
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.
Based on reports, near 15 tons of drugs have been confiscated in several operations in Sistan and Baluchestan since the beginning of May.
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 trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.
ZZ/ 4938621
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