Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 2
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's police seized about 708 kilograms of various drugs including opium, heroin and crack from smugglers in the country's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Police forces seized 390 kilograms of opium, 224 kilograms of heroin, 45 kilograms of crack and 48 kilograms of morphine in two different operations, the province's police commander, Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi said, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported March 2.
The drugs were discovered in mountainous and impassable areas, near the city of Saravan, Rahimi said. The police commander added that illegal weapon and ammunition were also discovered and seized.
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 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.
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