Iran's anti-drug police have seized nearly 230 tons of drugs throughout the country during the past nine months, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.

The haul included 3,899 kg of heroin, 5,720 kg of morphine, 165, 757 kg of opium, 48,893 kg of hashish and 3,754 kg of other drugs, IRNA quoted police sources as saying.

The figure showed a 4 percent increase compared with the same period in the previous year, the report said.

The police also rounded up 1,553 drug gangs, 88,617 drug smugglers and distributors, including 2,686 foreigners, during the same period, the report added.

Drug addiction and transportation have been serious social problems in Iran, a country sitting in the crossroads linking drug producing Afghanistan and Pakistan and markets in the Gulf states, central Asia and western Europe.

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

The country 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 3,100 police have lost their lives in conflicts with drug smugglers during the past two decades.

Source: Xinhua