Drug Seizures in Iran’s Semnan Province Up by 250%

“Fighting drug trafficking is one of the key priorities of the Law Enforcement Force’s plan for the current Iranian year (March 21, 2014 – March 20, 2015),” Semnan Province Police Chief General Mohammad Reza Mirzaei told reporters during a press conference in the province. He added that in line with the plan, more than 856 kg of illicit drugs were seized in Semnan province in the first five months of this year, which shows an increase of 250 percent compared with the same period last year. He also said that during the mentioned period, 42 rings involved in drug-trafficking have been disbanded by police forces. In recent decades, Iran has been hit by drug trafficking, mainly because of its 936- kilometer shared border with Afghanistan, which produces more than 90% of the world’s opium. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Islamic Republic is netting eight times more opium and three times more heroin than all other countries in the world combined. The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 3,700 Iranian police officers over the past 30 years.