TEHRAN – A provincial police commander has announced that 1,440 kg of drugs were seized in a joint police operation in the provinces of Semnan, Alborz and Tehran, IRNA reported.

Semnan Police Chief Colonel Abdollah Hassani said on Saturday that after months of intelligence activities by Special Operations Officers of Semnan Anti-Narcotics Police, clues to the activities of members of a drug smuggling gang from the east to the central parts of the country were obtained.

Hassani said subsequent observations by Semnan police officers showed that a part of a large cargo was being stored around Tehran by members of a gang and another was being transported.

Pointing to the cooperation among the police forces of the three provinces in the operation, the commander said the police seized a Peugeot automobile belonging to a gang’ member in Fardis of Karaj and 68.5 kilogram of morphine and 123.5 kilogram of opium were discovered.

Hassani said the operation led to the identification of the hideout and the arrest of a key gang member in Islamshahr.

Hinting at the discovery of two cars and the arrest of three drug smuggling gangs in the operation, he said police seized 1,248 kg of opium in the operation.

More than 4,690 kg of different kinds of narcotics were seized in Semnan province since the spring with a 265 percent increase over the same period last year.

On June 12, the head of UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) emphasized financial and technical support for Iran’s efforts in fighting drugs and crimes.

The UNODC Executive Director Yuri Fedotov in a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gholamhossein Dehqani acknowledged the role of Iran in fighting illegal drugs, adding that the efforts have been emphasized in the report of the UNODC 2019.

He also noted that the UNODC is determined to financially and technically support Iran with regard to fighting drugs and crimes.

Located near Afghanistan which is one of the main sources of opium production in the world, Iran is on the frontline of the fight against drug trafficking.

MH/PA