Speaking to reporters in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, Momeni highlighted the Islamic Republic’s successful campaign on narcotics and said in the first seven months of the current Iranian year more than 550 tons of various kinds of illicit drugs have been seized.

The official further said that 154 tons of the seizures have been reported in Sistan and Balouchestan Province.

The capture of illicit drugs has increased by 16 percent compared to the same period last year, he said, adding that the seizures in the southeastern province have witnessed a 25% year-on-year increase.

Police and security forces have been quite successful in ensuring security in the Sistan and Balouchestan despite its long borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, harsh weather and vast desert areas.

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 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 four decades.

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Fighting against narcotic drugs requires applying more up-to-date facilities and equipment, most of these relevant equipment and facilities cannot be imported into the country due to the US imposition of sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Even Western communities have not helped the Islamic Republic of Iran in this respect and expect Iran to support and back borders of their countries against drug trafficking.

For his part, Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Police Chief Brigadier General Mohammad Massoud Zahedian an in an interview with MNA correspondent pointed to the drastic measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the fight against drugs.

He pointed to the salient achievements taken by Iran in this field and said, “Islamic Republic of Iran has been recognized as the leading country in the global level in the field of countering narcotics.”

He reiterated that the country needs more sophisticated equipment in the fight against drugs.

Turning to the role of international community in the anti-drug field, the brigadier general added, “the international community should pay its share of dealing with drugs to the Islamic Republic of Iran since Iran plays a leading role in this respect.”

Although fighting against drug trafficking activities has cost Iran a lot, the country has been strongly taking anti-narcotics measures over the past 30 years.

Zahedian added, “if international community fails to pay its share of dealing with narcotics to Iran, the country will intensify its measures drastically.”

Last year, 800 tons of narcotic drugs were discovered in borders of the country but Afghanistan, which is the main producer of drugs, only 200 tons of the drug was discovered in this country. With comparing these two statistics, it can be found that Iran is very determined to fight against drug trafficking.

Anti-drug campaign has claimed lives of about 4,000 Iranian policemen in armed clashes on border areas with Afghanistan, he added.

Eskandar Momeni Secretary General of Anti-Drug Headquarters was the other speaker who said, “according to the statistics extracted by the United Nations, 75, 61 and 17 percent of opium, morphine and heroin discoveries in the world respectively are related to the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to deal with the ill phenomenon of drug trafficking in the national and international levels but imposition of sanctions by US against Iran has created many problems ahead for the country, Momeni stated.

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Two offenders were captured, and two pickups, nine motorcycles, and a significant number of guns and ammunition were also confiscated during the operation.

Iran, being Afghanistan’s neighbor, has always been the main route for smuggling narcotics to the Western world.

Over 20 tons of different illicit drugs were captured in Sistan and Baluchestan province during the past month.

The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past three decades, despite its high economic and human costs. The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades. The country has spent more than hundreds of millions of dollars on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.

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