IRAN - DRUG ARRESTS - 2001-08-29

Police in Iran have arrested seven suspected drug smugglers and seized 117 kilograms of narcotics in Tehran and southern Hormozgan province.

The state news agency says three suspects were detained in Tehran, where police seized 52 kilos of opium. Four suspects were arrested in Hormozgan after 65 kilos of opium were found in a car.

Iran is a major drug transit route from the so-called "Golden Crescent" of Afghanistan and Pakistan to markets in Europe and Gulf Arab states.