Iran smashes gang of criminals in southeast

Iranian security forces have smashed a gang of criminals in the southeast of the country.

Four of the gangsters as well as their ringleader, Hamed Zardkoohi, were killed during an operation by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Sistan-and-Baluchestan Province on Tuesday.

Armed bank robbery and drug trafficking are among the crimes committed by the ring of villains in the province. The bandits had killed 16 civilians and a police officer in the provincial city of Iranshahr.

Sistan-and-Baluchestan Province has witnessed insecurity on numerous occasions due to the presence and activities of criminal gangs.

The insecurity in the province is mainly caused by terror groups that usually cross the border into Iran from neighboring Pakistan.

Meanwhile Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.Iran has spent more than USD 700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries. The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past three decades.