TEHRAN (Tasnim) � Iranian police forces in the central province of Isfahan managed to seize nearly half of ton of opium in several operations, smashing five drug rings, the province�s police chief announced on Saturday.
Isfahan Province Police Chief Brigadier General Abdolreza Aqakhani said that in an operation in the eastern parts of the province, his forces seized 259.05 kg of opium after stopping and searching a truck.

He added that during four other operations in Isfahan, the police forces seized 199.8 kg of opium and nabbed a number of drug smugglers.

�In the five operations, a total of 458.850 kg of opium was seized, 13 drug dealer were arrested and seven light and heavy vehicles were confiscated,� the police chief went on to say.

In recent decades Iran has been hit by drug trafficking, mainly because of its 936-kilometer shared border with Afghanistan, where the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says accounts for 90% of the world�s opium production.

Over the past three decades, Iran has spent millions of dollars to seal its borders and prevent the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries. The war on the drug trade has also claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers.

According to a report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Iran accounted for the highest rate of opium seizures (80 percent) as well as heroin hauls (30 percent) in the world in 2013.

By Tasnim News Agency