Iranian anti-drug police seized over two tons of illicit drugs in the northeastern province of Razavi Khorassan during the past month, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday.

IRNA quoted provincial police commander Ahmad Reza Radan as saying that a large amount of ammunition were also confiscated from the smugglers during the same period.

Drug addiction and transportation has been a serious social problem in Iran, a country sitting in the crossroad linking drug producing Afghanistan and Pakistan and markets in the Gulf states, central Asia, western Europe and other regions.

According to official statistics, there are at least 2 million drug addicts in Iran.

The country also accounts for 80 percent of the opium and 90 percent of the morphine intercepted worldwide, according to the International Narcotics Control Board.

The Islamic republic spends 5 billion US dollars annually on anti-drug programs, and over 3100 police have lost their lives in conflict with drug smugglers during the past two decades.

Source: Xinhua