Speaking to reporters in Isfahan on Sunday, Brigadier General Mehdi Masoumbeigi said that during a recent operation code-named “Zolfaqar”, the police forces of the province managed to seize more than two tons of narcotics.
In the operation, 27 drug lords were attested, seven drug rings were smashed, and 18 vehicles were confiscated, the commander noted.
He added that since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2017), about 25 tons of illicit drugs have been captured and 120 major drugs gangs have been disbanded in the province.
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 four decades.