Iran Border Police Report 87% Surge in Drug Seizures
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Commander of the Iranian Border Police said confiscation of illicit drugs by his forces in the first four months of the current Iranian year (began on March 20) has increased by 87% compared to the corresponding period last year.
Brigadier General Ahmadali Goodarzi said on Thursday that 46 tons of drugs have been captured along the country’s borders during the first four months of the current Iranian year.
He further unveiled plans to equip the Border Police forces with smart and modern devices.
The Border Police are employing electronic and optical systems, radars, drones and thermal cameras to control the border round the clock, the commander noted.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past decades.
The country has spent more than $700 million 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.
