Iran's border police seize over 44 tons of narcotics in 6 months

Iran's Border Guards Commander General Hossein Zolfaqari announced that his forces have seized more than 44 tons of illicit drugs in the first half of the current Iranian year (started March 21). “We have discovered and seized a sum of 44 tons of various types of narcotics and also arrested 104 drug traffickers along the country’s borders in the last six months,” Brigadier General Zolfaqari said on Wednesday. Eastern Iran borders Afghanistan, which is the world's number one opium and drug producer. Iran's geographical position has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who intend to smuggle their cargoes from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe. Iran spends billions of dollars and has lost thousands of its police troops in the war against traffickers. Owing to its rigid efforts, Iran makes 81 percent of the world's total opium seizures and has turned into the leading country in drug campaign. Sistan and Balouchestan province, where Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan come together, has porous borders, where bandits and drug traffickers operate despite frequent entanglements and intense efforts of the Iranian law enforcement police. More than 3,720 Iranian security personnel have been killed fighting drug smugglers since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran has recently established a central database and strengthened police-judiciary cooperation in a new effort to combat organized crime. Every year, Iran burns more than 60 tons of seized narcotics as a symbol of its determination to fight drugs.