Iranian police killed two wanted drug traffickers in a two-hour shoot-out in the northeast on Friday night, reported the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, on Sunday.
Habibollah Youssefi, 40, and Farmarz Shahbazi, 36, were killed, said the agency.
The former had killed an Iranian cop several weeks ago in complicity with the latter. Two others, including a woman, were also arrested in the shoot-out at a private home.
Witnesses told IRNA that people had gathered to watch the overnight scene. Police had to lob tear gas cannisters to disperse the crowd.
The shoot-out erupted after Youssefi did not heed a call by police to surrender. A handgun, ammunition, 20 grams of narcotics and a satellite dish were also seized after searching the house the two dealers had hidden in.
Thousands of security personnel and drug traffickers have died in similar incidents since the country intensified efforts to wipe out the illegal trade. Iran’s geographical location makes it a transit corridor for drugs produced in Afghanistan and other Asian countries.
In Iran itself, about six million people have one way or another dealt with narcotics, according to statistics – Albawaba.com
