Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran’s police seized about 700 kilograms of opium from smugglers in the country's eastern province of Razavi Khorasan.
Police forces seized 100-kilogram and 600-kilogram cargos of opium from smugglers on Dec. 23, the province's police commander, Brigadier General Bahman Amiri Moqaddam said, IRNA news agency reported Dec. 24.
Four smugglers were arrested in police operations, Amiri Moqaddam said, adding that the cargos were going from southern provinces to Mashhad city.
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.
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.