According to the Iranian intelligence ministry on Wednesday, through extensive operations carried out by the Intelligence Ministry forces in Alborz Province, the members of a big arms and ammunition smuggling gang were identified and arrested.

This gang has been active in Alborz, Tehran, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Isfahan, Sistan and Baluchestan, West Azerbaijan, and Kerman provinces.

According to the confessions and documents, the members of the gang smuggled weapons and ammunition, illicit drugs and alcohol, currency, coins, gold, and antiques.

More than 20 key members of the gang were arrested in coordination with the judiciary, and a significant number of weapons, ammunition, hunting, munition, and vehicles were seized.

The gang members abused the correspondence and titles of individuals in the Ministry of Intelligence, government agencies, the judiciary, and the military, forging the documents.

Former Anti-narcotics Police Chief of Tehran province Colonel Mohammad Bakhshandeh said on Wednesday that 400 drug smuggling bands have been dismantled during the last six years in Tehran.

Over 100 tons of illegal drugs were also seized by anti-narcotics polices of Tehran Province in various operations at the same time, he added.

According to Bakhshandeh, one trafficking band was dismantled in the last 10 month and 750 Kg of narcotics were seized in Shahr-e-Rey.

374,000 culprits have been arrested in the last 6 years, he said, adding that 69,000 smugglers were identified and apprehended in the last 10 months.

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.