MNA � The police force of Iran�s Sistan and Baluchestan province have successfully busted a large drug trafficking network with a big consignment of illicit drugs in the southeastern borders.

Commander of Sistan and Baluchestan Border Guards Colonel Mohammad Mollashahi said on Sunday that some 2,195 kilograms of opium were seized last night when the police force entered a gun battle with a big gang attempting to smuggle the drugs into the country through three different border points.

Two offenders were captured, and two pickups, nine motorcycles, and a significant number of guns and ammunition were also confiscated during the operation.

Iran, being Afghanistan's neighbor, has always been the main route for smuggling narcotics to the Western world.

Over 20 tons of different illicit drugs were captured in Sistan and Baluchestan province during the past month.

The Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past three decades, despite its high economic and human costs. The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades. The country has spent more than hundreds of millions of dollars on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.