One ton of narcotics will be burnt in the southern Iranian province of Hormuzgan on Monday, said an official on Saturday.
Most of the haul consists of heroin and hashish, which will be burnt publicly on the beach, he said, quoted by the official Iranian news agency (IRNA).
"The move is in line with efforts to raise public awareness of the drug menace and soothe a feeling of despair and disappointment vis-a-vis the anti-drug policy," he said.
Meanwhile, a half ton of drugs were burned in a symbolic gesture in the central city of Yazd, IRNA said.
Iran is a major route for smuggling drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan to markets in the Arabian Gulf, Europe and beyond.
Opium, heroin, hashish and morphine are hauled through the country and single busts involving a ton or more of drugs are not uncommon.
Iranian authorities have stepped up surveillance along the country's borders by ordering the erection of outposts and an electronically monitored barbed wire fence along the 945-kilometer border with Afghanistan.
A budget of 200 billion rials ($25 million) was allocated for the project, previous reports said.
Official reports say 3,100 Iranian police officers have been killed in drug-related battles throughout Iran over the past twenty years – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
