Iranian police squads have seized nearly 45.5 tons of narcotics in the country's Southern province of Hormozgan during the last 11 months, a provincial top police official announced on Wednesday, reported Fars News Agency.
"A total volume of 45,459 kg of different types of narcotics has been discovered in Hormozgan in last 11 months," Hormozgan's Police Chief Mohammad Ali Akhoundi told reporters.
He said that the seizures include 35,624 kg of opium, 692 kg of heroin, 9,030 kg hashish and 111 kg of other types of illicit drugs.
The commander further announced that his forces have also arrested 3,111 drug-traffickers and dealers during the said period.
The anti-drug squads of the Iranian Law Enforcement Police have intensified their countrywide campaign against drug-trafficking through staging long-term systematic operations in recent months.
The Iranian anti-narcotic police have always staged periodic, but short-term, operations against drug traffickers and dealers, but the latest reports - which among others indicate an improved and systematic dissemination of information - reveal that the world's most forefront and dedicated anti-narcotic force (as UN drug-campaign assessments put it) has embarked on a long-term countrywide plan to crack down on the drug trade since the beginning of the current Iranian year.