Second Brigadier General Mohammadreza Mir-Heidari said that following comprehensive intelligence activities, the police forces traced the haul of the illicit drugs in a sedan, which was destined for the northern parts of Iran and seized the convoy in Yazd.

According to him, the consignment included 850 kilograms of opium and 430 kilograms of morphine.

The offender was also captured during the operation, he added.

The police chief noted that the illegal load had entered Yazd from the southeastern parts of the country, which borders Afghanistan.

A total of 27,000 kilograms of different drugs have been captured in the province since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started in March 2019).

The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trades originating from Afghanistan in the past four decades, despite its high economic and human costs. 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.

The war on drug trade has also claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.

The Police Chief of Kerman Province Second Brigadier General Abbas Ali Mohammadian said on Monday that following comprehensive intelligence activities, the police forces of the province confiscated 2.602 tons of opium in collaboration with police forces of Alborz Province during an operation which was destined to Tehran and Alborz provinces from southern Iran.

The police forces tracked the haul of the illicit drugs in a fuel tanker, he added.

Two smugglers were arrested and have been handed over to the judicial officials, he said.

The police chief noted that the illegal load had entered Kerman province from the eastern provinces, which border Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trades originating from Afghanistan in the past four decades, despite its high economic and human costs. 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.

According to reports, in 2018 alone, Iranian forces carried out 1,557 operations against drug traffickers, seizing approximately 807 tons of different types of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

Some 2,380 kilograms of different drugs were seized during clashes between the Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces and smugglers attempting to smuggle the drugs into the country through Mirjaveh borders, said Commander of Sistan and Baluchestan Border Guards Colonel Mohammad Mollashahi.

According to the police chief, 2,287 kilograms of opium and 100 kilograms of hashish were confiscated during the operation.

Four smugglers have been arrested in this regard and handed over to the judicial officials and two vehicles along with a number of different weapons were captured, he added.

In another operation, the police forces of Hormozgan Province have dismantled a drug trafficking band that carried drugs from Hasht Bandi city to Minab, said Police Chief of Hormozgan Province Second Brigadier General Gholamreza Jafari.

The busted consignment contained 634 kilograms of opium, he added, saying that two criminals were also detained during the operation.

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.