TEHRAN, May 10 (MNA) – According to Tehran’s Police Chief, the forces identified and dismantled four drug-smuggling bands in Tehran in recent days.The Chief of Tehran Metropolitan Police, Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi made the announcement on Sunday, saying that following extensive operations carried out by police forces four drug trafficking bands have been dismantled and confiscated a large number of illicit drugs in the Iranian capital during separate operations.

The busted consignment contained 1,500 kilograms of illicit drugs, he said, adding that the criminals were also detained during the operations and handed to judiciary officials.

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.

According to the World Drug Report 2019” of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in 2017, Iran had seized the largest quantity of opiates, accounting for 39% of the global total.

ZZ/IRN 83782710