TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior provincial police official announced that the Iranian law enforcement forces have seized 18 tons of different types of narcotics in the Central province of Yazd in the last Iranian year (ended on March 20).
"The province's law enforcement forces have discovered over 18 tons of different types of narcotics in Yazd province in the last Iranian year," Director-General of Yazd province's Anti-drug Headquarters Ali Roustayee told reporters on Wednesday.

He added that the police troops have also arrested 2,000 drug-traffickers and dealers during the said period.

The anti-drug squads of the Iranian Law Enforcement Police have intensified their countrywide campaign against drug-trafficking through staging long-term systematic operations in recent months.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) World Drug Report 2013, Iran accounted for the highest rate of opium seizures (80 percent) as well as heroin seizures (30 percent) in the world this year.

According to official estimates, Iran's battle against drugs cost the country around $1 billion annually. Strategies pursued by Tehran include digging canals, building barriers and installing barbed wire to seal the country's borders, specially in the East.

Iran has recently established a central database and strengthened police-judiciary cooperation in a new effort to combat organized crime.

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