The Police Chief of Qom Province Second Brigadier General Abdolreza Aghakhani said on Tuesday that the police forces of the province confiscated 1.006 tons of illicit drugs and opium in collaboration with police forces of Lorestan Province.

The smuggler was planning to transfer the consignment to Qom province, he added.

One smuggler has been arrested and one vehicle seized during the operation, according to the police chief.

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.

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

During the first month of 2020, it is the fifth large cargo of illicit drugs which is confiscated by anti-narcotics police forces across Iran territory.