Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 2
By Fatih Karimov– Trend:
Iran’s police seized over 1,250 kilograms of narcotics from smugglers in the country's central Qom province.
The police forces also arrested four drug smugglers and dismantled four drug-trafficking groups during the operations, the province's police commander, Brigadier General Kazem Mojtabaei, said, the state-run IRINN TV reported Nov. 2.
Police forces seized a hunting gun with cartridge as well as 5 passenger cars and 2 commercial cars from the smugglers, Mojtabaei 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.
The fight against drug trafficking annually costs Iran about $1 billion, according to the official estimates.
According to the statistics, there are about two million drug users in Iran.