News agency: Iranian police confiscate 2 tons of morphine

Iranian police in a single raid confiscated two tons of morphine from drug smugglers in a suburb of the capital Tehran, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported on Thursday. Iranian authorities often confiscate large quantities of narcotics, but the seizure is the biggest morphine bust in months.Iran is the main route by which drug smugglers ship narcotics from the poppy fields of Afghanistan to Europe.

Iranian police in a single raid confiscated two tons of morphine from drug smugglers in a suburb of the capital Tehran, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported on Thursday. Tehran province police chief General Mohsen Khancherli, said two smugglers, including the ringleader of the smuggling gang, were arrested. He said one of the detainees was transferring the drugs to Tehran from the southwestern part of the country by truck.

The second detainee, the alleged ringleader, was coordinating the operation from another province, remotely, Khancherli said. Iranian authorities often confiscate large quantities of narcotics, but the seizure is the biggest morphine bust in months.

Iran is the main route by which drug smugglers ship narcotics from the poppy fields of Afghanistan to Europe. Authorities confiscate hundreds of tons of narcotics - mostly opium - every year..