TEHRAN – The anti-narcotics police managed to discover over 3.5 tons of drugs over the last 48 hours, especially in the desert areas of the eastern border of the country, Majid Karimi, head of the anti-narcotics police, said on Wednesday.

In order to monitor and control the criminal activities of drug trafficking gangs, clues were obtained about the activity of armed smugglers who intended to move and transfer drugs from the eastern and southeastern borders to other parts of the country, he explained.

The police officers put the smugglers under their control and surveillance, and during operations, they discovered 3.5 tons of drugs and arrested 82 smugglers, Karimi stated.

In these operations, 108 vehicles, 18 motorcycles, two weapons, and 200 pieces of ammunition were seized, he added.

Eskander Momeni, secretary general of the anti-narcotics headquarters, said on Monday that the bill on combating and preventing narcotics will be submitted to the Majlis (Iranian parliament) in the coming days.

Iran holds the record for narcotics confiscation in the world, Momeni said in December 2021.

Great achievements in the field of countermeasures have been gained, and the United Nations has officially announced that 90 percent of opium, 48 percent of morphine, and 26 percent of world heroin have been discovered by Iran.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime attaches special importance to the regional and global role of Iran in the fight against narcotics and, as a leading United Nations agency, Alexander Fedulov, UNODC Iran Country Representative, said in June 2022.

In the Iranian calendar year ended in March 2021, about 1,200 tons of drugs were discovered, which was the highest rate of discovery in the world.

The UNODC has praised Iran’s efforts to fight against narcotics trafficking on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

According to UNODC, Iran remains one of the major transit routes for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to European countries and has had a leading role at the global level in drug-control campaigns.

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