Iranian police intercept large volume of narcotics

Iran's border guard units discovered several tons of narcotics in the country's Southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan, a senior provincial police chief announced on Wednesday. Commander of Sistan and Balouchestan's Border Guard Forces Gholam Nabi Kohkan said that his troops seized 2,713kg of different types of narcotics along the province's borders after they intensified border control and measures against armed drug-traffickers and criminals. The commander said the seizure came after police initiated massive intelligence operations along the borders and the sincere cooperation of the local population. Yesterday, Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said that the measures taken by the country's security and law enforcement forces in the country's Southeastern regions have resulted in a huge growth in the seizure of narcotics. "This (Iranian) year (since March 21) the seizure of narcotics in Sistan and Balouchestan province has undergone an 80% growth thanks to the efforts made by the security and law enforcement forces," Mohammad Najjar said, addressing Sistan and Balouchestan's Anti-Drug Coordination Council on Tuesday. "As a result of the efforts made, a total amount of around 68 tons of narcotics has been discovered in Southeastern Iran this year," the minister said, referring to the seizure of illicit drugs during the last seven months since the beginning of the Iranian year (March 21-October 22). He further asked the neighboring states to do their best to boost security and stop drug-traffickers from using their soil as a drug-transit route. Iran is on a crossroad of international drug transit route linking the world drug hub, Afghanistan, to the Persian Gulf and European countries. Iran spends billions of dollars and has lost thousands of its police troops in the war against traffickers.