Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iranian border guards killed two drug smugglers during an armed conflict in the country's south eastern province of Sistan and Balochestan.
The incident took place in the Iran-Pakistan border near the Zabol city, when the armed smugglers were crossing the border, Rohambakhsh Habibi, commander of the province's border guards said, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on May 19.
Police seized 378 kilograms of various drugs, including opium, hashish and crack, the commander 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 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.