Jun 15, 2020, 1:35 PM

1.1 tons of illicit drugs seized in SE Iran

1.1 tons of illicit drugs seized in SE Iran

TEHRAN, Jun. 15 (MNA) – Border guards of Sistan and Baluchestan have dismantled a drug smuggling band and seized 1,100 kilograms of illicit drugs in the southern provinces of Iran in two separate operations.

Commander of Sistan and Baluchestan Border Guards Colonel Mohammad Mollashahi said on Monday that some 981 kilograms of different kinds of drugs were seized during a clash between smugglers and boarder guards in Saravan.

The consignment consisted of 942 kilograms of opium and 39 kilograms of other types of drugs, he added.

In another operation, some 120 kilograms of opium were busted when the border guards entered a gun battle with a big gang attempting to smuggle the drugs into the country through Saravan border, he said.

The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past three decades, despite its high economic and human costs. The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades. The country has spent more than hundreds of millions of dollars on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab, and Central Asian countries.

According to reports, in 2018 alone, Iranian forces carried out 1,557 operations against drug traffickers, seizing approximately 807 tons of different types of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

According to the World Drug Report 2019 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2017, Iran had seized the largest quantity of opiates, accounting for 39% of the global total.

ZZ/IRN83822392

News ID 159823

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