Baku, Azerbaijan, July 16
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iranian police killed one drug smuggler during an armed conflict in the country's south eastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
The incident took place near the city of Saravan, the province's police commander, Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on July 16.
Police seized 1.2 tonnes of opium from the smugglers, the commander noted.
Rahimi also went on to add that one of the smugglers was arrested during the police operation.
Iran is situated on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Gulf States.
The Islamic Republic shares about 900 kilometres of common border with Afghanistan, over which 74 percent of opium is smuggled.
It was reported that some 500 tons of drugs were seized in the country during the 12-month period from 21 March 2013 to 21 March 2014. The fight against drugs annually costs Iran about $1 billion, according to the official estimates. The statistics also say there are about two million drug users in Iran.