3,000 Iranian policemen have been killed since 1981 in drug-related battles throughout the country, secretary-general of the anti-drug department, Mohammed Fallah, was quoted by the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) as saying Tuesday.
Fallah's remarks came during a meeting with British drugs coordinator, Keith Hellawell, who is currently in Iran to inspect the eastern borders.
The Iranian official blamed Afghanistan for "this scourge of mankind," said the agency.
Meanwhile, police chief in the southeastern province of Sistan Baluchistan, which borders Afghanistan, told Hellawell that Iran has allocated over 900 million dollars for sealing off the eastern borders, according to the agency.
Brigadier-General, Hossein Salehi, said "since March 2000, 27.54 tons of narcotics have been nabbed in this province."
For his part, Hellawell said that the UK government has provided a further 400,000 pounds sterling to assist Iran's anti-drugs work on its eastern border with Afghanistan.
Large drug hauls and clashes with traffickers have been on the rise in Iran, which sits on a major route for smuggling drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the markets of the Arabian Gulf and European countries.
Last July, the Iranian authorities started constructing outposts and a barbed wire fence with electronic monitoring devices along the 945-kilometer border with Afghanistan, said IRNA.
A budget of 25 million dollars was allocated for the project -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
