Police Slice Open Six Camels in Drug Haul

Police Slice Open Six Camels in Drug Haul

Tue Nov 30,10:35 AM ET Oddly Enough - Reuters



TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police seized 18 kilograms of opium after cutting open the stomachs of six camels, which are being increasingly used to carry narcotics from Afghanistan (news - web sites), media reported Tuesday.



Iran is one of the world's key narcotics thoroughfares, carrying opiates from Afghanistan to Europe. It boasts 25 percent of opium seizures worldwide.


The official IRNA news agency said police in the central city of Nain slaughtered the camels which they found in the back of a truck pulled over at a checkpoint.


The bellies of four animals yielded drugs and the truck driver was arrested.


Networks of forts and ramparts across Iran's eastern borders have forced drug dealers back to more traditional methods, carrying narcotics through narrow mountain passes in rucksacks and camels' saddle-bags.