Iran to Toughen Up Its Anti-Drug Laws
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NICOSIA, Cyprus — Iran’s top judge said Thursday that tough new laws will impose the death penalty on anyone caught with one ounce of heroin or 11 pounds of opium, Tehran Radio reported.
Chief Justice Abdulkarim Moussavi Ardabili told reporters in the northwestern city of Tabriz that the new laws will take effect next month, the radio said.
Davoud Karimi, a senior Iranian anti-drug officer, said in February that agents had seized 175 tons of drugs in the last four years and 40,000 smugglers or addicts were in jail.
Islamic Republic newspaper last year quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying that Iranian drug addicts numbered 500,000.
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