Larijani lauds Iranian police’s efforts to combat drugs

“The issue of security in the country is a basic requirement without which life would not be easy for the people,” Ayatollah Amoli Larijani said, addressing a gathering of commanders of the Law Enforcement Force in Tehran on Sunday.

He further commended the efforts made by the forces to prevent the smuggle of illicit drugs and said, “If it was not for the Law Enforcement Force’s campaign against narcotics, the drugs would have engulfed the entire country.”

Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.

Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past three decades.

The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.

The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past 38 years.

/SR