TEHRAN – Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli and Suleyman Soylu, the Turkish interior minister, met in Tehran on Saturday to discuss border security, including issues related to smuggling and terrorism.

A Turkish delegation is visiting Iran to focus on border security issues like smuggling and terrorism.

The Turkish interior minister, heading a delegation, visited Iran at the official invitation of Rahmani Fazli.

Iranian Deputy Interior Minister Hossein Zolfaqari also held talks with Soylu. Zolfaqari and the Turkish interior minister discussed the expansion of ties and cooperation in fighting terrorism, mutual security concerns and the most important regional and international issues.

The two sides also held talks on the recent terrorist attack in northwest Iran during which an Iranian border guard was killed and 7 other guards and engineers were injured.

The high ranking delegations from Iran and Turkey, headed by the ministers of the interior, were scheduled to attend a bilateral meeting.

The Turkish interior minister is accompanied by Turkish Gendarmerie General Commander Arif Cetin and Selami Altinok the General Director of Security.

Recently the Iranian Customs said a large international heroin trafficking band has been smashed by Razi customs officers at the Iran-Turkey border.

The gang sought to transit heroin from Iran to Turkey and then to Europe by hiding the drugs inside a luxury car.

The World Customs Organization in its October ranking has examined the performance of customs worldwide in the first nine months of 2017 and placed Iran at the top of the list of countries combatting drugs and second in fighting smuggled goods.

The World Customs Organization also named an online customs services plan introduced within the framework of a comprehensive Customs portal in Iran as a top model to its members globally.

Iran has long borders with hotbeds of drugs production and has dedicated many lives to fight smuggling rings.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are two origins of producing and trafficking various types of narcotic in the region.

NA/PA