Iran’s Security Forces Seize 500 Tonnes of Illicit Drugs in 9 Months

In a speech in Tehran on Monday, Brigadier General Momeni pointed to the police’s measures to control the country’s eastern borders with Afghanistan and prevent the entrance of narcotics and said the measures have expanded to western borders.

The country has also managed to carry out about 1,000 anti-drugs operations over the past nine months, capturing more than 500 tonnes of various kinds of illicit drugs, he said.

The police forces have also disbanded 1,241 drug gangs in the mentioned period, the commander added.

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 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.