Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 22
By Fatih Karimov- Trend:
Iran's police seized over one ton of various drugs from a drug trafficking gang in the capital city of Tehran Nov. 21.
All 11 members of the gang excluding its head who is in Pakistan were arrested in the police operation, General Hossein Sajedinia, Tehran's police chief said, ISNA news agency reported Nov. 22.
Earlier 800 kilograms of drugs were seized from other members of the gang, the police commander said.
Sajedinia further said that Tehran's police have busted 41 gangs involved in drug trafficking in last eight months.
Drug seizure in the last eights months registered a 42 percent increase compared to the same period last year, he added.
Iran is situated on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states. The Islamic Republic shares about 900 kilometers of common border with Afghanistan, over which 74 percent of opium is smuggled.
It was reported that some 490 tons of drugs were seized in the country during the last fiscal year (ended on March 20).
The fight against drug trafficking annually costs Iran about $1 billion, according to the official estimates. The statistics also say there are about two million drug users in Iran.