Azernews.Az

Iran's border police seized more than 1,100 kilograms of narcotics including opium and hashish in country's eastern borders, the Sistan and Baluchestan Province's border police commander, Brigadier General Gholam-Nabi Kouhkan said.

The police seized some 1,043 kilograms of opium and some 78 kilograms of hashish in confrontation with the drug smugglers near border city of Jakigur in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, he said.

Smugglers have escaped, the report reads.

Iran lies on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states, and shares about 900 kilometers of a common border with Afghanistan, through which about 74 percent of opium is reportedly smuggled.

Iran's location has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who seek to smuggle their cargo from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe.

Iran has been actively fighting drug trafficking. According to official estimates, the fight against drugs annually costs Iran about $1 billion. The statistics also say that there are about 2 million drug users in Iran.

500 tons of drugs were reportedly seized during the last solar year and 115 tons during the first three months of the current solar year.

Owing to its rigid efforts, Iran makes 89 percent of the world's total opium seizures and has turned into the leading country in combating drugs.

Every year, Iran burns more than 60 tons of various seized drugs as a symbol of its determination to fight drugs.