Police Seize over 1.4 Tons of Illicit Drugs, Arms in Southeastern Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces managed to seize more than 1,400 kilograms of illicit drugs in two operations in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, the provincial police chief announced.
Speaking to Tasnim, General Hossein Rahimi said that after extensive and round-the-clock intelligence activities, police forces in the cities of Mehrestan, Sib and Suran, and Khash identified an armed drug-trafficking gang attempting to transit a big haul of illicit drugs.
In an operation on Tuesday, police forces identified vehicles belonging to the drug gang and chased them, the commander added.
After the smugglers refused to stop their vehicles, a gun battle broke out and the forces managed to arrest two armed traffickers, he said.
During the operation, the police forces managed to seize 788 kilograms of opium, 26 kg of heroin, and 24 kg of hashish, along with two Kalashnikov guns and a grenade-launcher weapon, General Hossein Rahimi went on to say.
The commander also said in a separate operation in the provincial capital of Zahedan, 564 kg of opium was captured from drug traffickers and a smuggler was arrested.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past three decades.
The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past 35 years.
