More than 4000 iranian policemen were killed in fighting with drug smuggling during 35 years
During the two recent Iranian anti-drug operations police was managed to prevent the supply of more than 1,400 kilograms of illegal drugs in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
In addition, the head of the Ministry of the Interior of the province said that 4,000 security forces were killed in 35 years, fight against drug smuggling.
In an operation on Tuesday, police forces identified vehicles belonging to the drug gang and chased them, the commander added.
After the smugglers refused to stop their vehicles, a gun battle broke out and the forces managed to arrest two armed traffickers, he said.
During the operation, the police forces managed to seize 788 kilograms of opium, 26 kg of heroin, and 24 kg of hashish, along with two Kalashnikov guns and a grenade-launcher weapon, General Hossein Rahimi went on to say.
The commander also said in a separate operation in the provincial capital of Zahedan, 564 kg of opium was captured from drug traffickers and a smuggler was arrested.
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 three 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 35 years.
Source: tasnimnews.com
