Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 5
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's police seized 1,082 kilograms of various drugs from smugglers during two separate operations in the country's southern Fars province on Jan. 5.
Police forces discovered 670 kilograms of opium and 97 kilograms of hashish from a truck in Larestan district, the province's Police Chief Brigadier General Ahmad Goudarzi said, the official IRIB News agency reported.
Police also discovered 315 kilograms of opium from a truck and a pickup in another operation in Larestan, Goudarzi added.
The police commander said that three smugglers were arrested during the police operations.
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 including 190 metric tons of opium, 35 metric tons of hashish, 5.4 metric tons of heroin, 5.3 metric tons of morphine and one metric tons of methamphetamine 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
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