Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar says the country has stepped up its fight against narco-trafficking and drug lords, using the latest means and methods, Press TV reported.
"Iran has intensified its campaign, using modern means, to track down drug smuggling gangs," Mohammad-Najjar was quoted by Fars news agency as saying late Sunday.
All provinces, governorates and districts should use their 'authority' to combat illicit drugs, he said in a meeting on combating drugs in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
The Iranian official further called for plans to give more awareness to the younger generation to further prevent drug use.
According to Mohammad-Najjar, the provincial borders with neighboring Afghanistan should be policed more strictly to curtail the inflow of narcotics into the country.
To that end, he underlined, foreign nationals should be prevented from entering Iran illegally and the provincial economic infrastructure needs to be improved.
The minister said more than $1 million has been set aside this year to seal Iranian borders, especially in the east and northwest.
He added that more finances will also be allocated to buy sniffer dogs, equip checkpoints, promote drug rehabilitation programs and round up drug addicts prowling the streets.
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