Iran’s border patrol police said it seized more than 11 tonnes of drug, killing one smuggler, in the “biggest” bust since the 1979 Islamic revolution, media reported on Sunday.
“The biggest drug load busted since the revolution, weighing 11 tonnes, has been seized in Jakigour area in Sistan-Baluchestan,” bordering Pakistan, border police chief Brigadier General Hossein Zolfaqari said.
The general, quoted in the media, said “one of the drug traffickers was killed and a number of others wounded but managed to escape to the other side of the border,” without elaborating.
Zolfaqari said 10 tonnes were opium and the rest hashish, adding that the bust came in a 36-hour operation.
Iran, which lies on a key transit route for narcotics headed for Europe and the Middle East, has seized more than 350 tonnes of drugs, mostly opium, since the start of this year, according to official figures.
Three border guards were killed in October during an operation in Sistan-Baluchestan.