TEHRAN –The anti-narcotics police managed to dismantle a drug trafficking gang in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province on Monday, Ahmad-Ali Goudarzi, Commander of the Border Police, has stated.

A total of 1,436 kilograms of narcotics were seized in the operation, IRNA quoted Goudarzi as saying.

Border guards arrested four and seized 829 kilograms of methamphetamine, 334 kilograms of opium, 240 kilograms of hashish, 33 kilograms of heroin, two hand-held wireless devices, six weapons, seven RPG bullets, and some other items, the official noted.

Narcotics seizures up by 21%

On December 30, 2023, Iraj Kakavand, the head of anti-narcotics police, said since the beginning of the current year, some 470 tons of narcotics have been seized from smugglers all over the country, Mehr News Agency reported.

“We are witnessing a 21-percent rise in seizures of narcotics originating from Afghanistan,” he added.

A large number of smugglers have also been identified and arrested in this regard, Kakavand stressed.

In October, Kakavand, in a meeting with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representative in Tehran, Alexander Fedulov, called it essential to support Iran in the fight against drug trafficking.

During the meeting, Fedulov said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been committed to a serious and decisive fight against narcotics at the regional and global level, IRIB reported.

Iran has spent a huge sum of money fighting the war on drugs, and apart from that, many anti-narcotics forces have sacrificed their lives in this way. The high number of martyrs and injured shows Iran’s serious determination to deal with this scourge, the UN official added.

“Considering the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking, the UNODC and the international community support of Iran should be proportionate to the activities and actions at the regional and global level.”

MT/MG