647 kg of narcotics confiscated in East of Iran

After an intelligence operation, the anti-narcotics police of Gonabad identified a consignment of opiate which was destined to Mashhad from southern provinces of Iran, Second Brigadier General Mohammad Kazem Taghavi reportedly said on Sunday.

575 kg of morphine and 72 kg of heroin were seized and two offenders were also arrested in this regard, he added.

Based on the United Nations reports, Afghanistan ranks first as the producer of opium and heroin in the world. Iran, being Afghanistan's neighbor, has always been the main route for smuggling narcotics to the Western world.

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.

FA/IRN 83639856