500 KGS. OF NARCOTICS DESTROYED IN TEHRAN

TEHRAN. In a symbolic ceremony on Tuesday, 500 kiolgrammes of narcotics was
destroyed in the Khak-e-sefeed neighborhood in Tehran.

The neighborhood was once the center of drug traffickers and consumers in
Tehran but was cleaned up by police forces in a massive operation a few
months ago.

The ceremony marking June 26, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and
Illicit Trafficking was attended by Parliamentary Speaker Mehdi Karroubi
and a group of diplomatic corps in Tehran.

The Director of Anti-Drug Headquarters Mohammad Fallah told the gathering
that in spite of extensive struggle against drug trafficking and many
martyrs who have given their lives in this way, the problem has not yet
been solved in the world.

Fallah said 141 members of Iran's armed forces were martyred in fighting
against drug traffickers in the Iranian year 1379 which ended March 21 and
Over 30,000 members of the armed forces are currently fighting against drug
trafficking in borders.

He said all countries should cooperate with each other so that the
international problem of narcotics can be removed.

In a separate meeting on Tuesday Fallah said Security forces and the police
killed some 1,083 drug traffickers in the last Iranian year.

He said some 1,087 cases of kidnapping by armed bandits and drug
traffickers were reported and 227,000 people were arrested in drug-related
incidents during the period.

He also said that drug consumption took the lives of 1,378 people while
5,433 people who had ingested drugs were arrested in the period. Fallah
said that drug traffickers sometimes try to dodge police checks by
ingesting narcotic packs.

Iran is a major route for drugs originating from Afghanistan or Pakistan on
their way to markets in the Persian Gulf, Europe and beyond.

The Iranian government spent nearly $20 million last year in the fight
against drug trafficking, and has armed thousands of villagers along its
eastern border to help combat traffickers.

Official reports say 3,100 Iranian police officers have lost their lives in
drug-related battles throughout Iran over the past twenty years.