Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 21
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's police seized some 1350 kilogrammes of various narcotics in the country's eastern Province of South Khorasan from drug smugglers during past two days, the South Khorasan Province's police commander, Khalil Vaezi said, ISNA news agency reported on Nov.21.
He went on to note that the police seized drugs during seven operations and that 20 people have been arrested.
The drugs include 765 kilogrammes of morphine, 582 kilogrammes of opium and three kilogrammes of crack cocaine, Vaezi added.
Iran is situated in a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states. The Islamic Republic shares about 900 kilometres of common border with Afghanistan, over which 74 per cent of opium is smuggled.
According to official estimates, the fight against drugs annually costs Iran about $1 billion. Statistics also say there are about two million drug users in Iran.
It was reported that 500 tons of drugs were seized during the last solar year (ended on March21) and more than 215 tons during the first five months of the current solar year.