Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 18
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's police seized about 1,570 kilograms of various drugs from armed smugglers in the country's south eastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Police forces seized 1559 kilograms of opium and 16 kilograms of morphine in two different operations in past 48 hours, the province's police commander, Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said, Iran 's official IRNA news agency reported Feb. 18.
In an armed conflict with armed smugglers near the city of Saravan, police seized 839 kilograms of opium as well as 16 kilograms of morphine, Rahimi said, adding the smugglers left the drug consignment and escaped after one hour of intense clashes.
The police commander added that another operation took place in the city of Iranshahr, where 720 kilograms of opium as well as illegal weapons were discovered and seized.
One smuggler was arrested during the police operations, Rahimi noted.
Iran is situated on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Gulf States. The Islamic Republic shares about 900 kilometers of common border with Afghanistan, over which 74 percent of opium is smuggled.
About 237 metric tons of various drugs were seized in Iran during the first half of the current Iranian fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22, 2014).
It was reported that some 500 metric tons of drugs were seized in the country during the last Iranian fiscal year (March 21, 2013 to March 21, 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.
Edited by CN
Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh