Police seize large drug cargo in southern Iran

Iran's Law Enforcement Police have discovered and seized a large drug cargo in a single operation in the country's Southern province of Hormozgan on the rims of the Persian Gulf, a senior police commander announced. Speaking to reporters, Lieutenant Commander of Iran's Border Guards for Operations Hamid Sharafi said that police forces have seized 2.5 tons of different types of narcotics at Qeshm Island on Thursday. Sharafi added that traffickers had planned to smuggle the cargo, which included hashish and opium, into the country via the sea. Iran, located at the crossroad of international drug smuggling from Afghanistan to Europe leads international efforts in fighting drug networks and narcotic traffickers. The anti-drug squads of the Iranian Law Enforcement Police have intensified their countrywide campaign against drug-trafficking through staging long-term systematic operations since last year. The Iranian police measures along the country's Eastern borders have forced drug-traffickers to resort to other routes, including the Sea of Oman and the Persian Gulf, to smuggle their drug cargos which originate in Afghanistan and Pakistan.