Drug traffickers executed in Iran

Five drug traffickers have been executed in eastern Iran, and five others have been killed in armed clashes with police.

The executions took place on Monday in Birjand, near Iran's eastern border with Afghanistan.

Five other drug traffickers were killed in clashes with police in the southern Minab region, reports the Islamic Republic News Agency.

Nader Barahuei and Samad Kargiji, were sentenced to death for smuggling four tons of opium from Pakistan and Afghanistan, peddling drugs and smuggling weapons.

A third man, Ali Akbar Rezaei, was sentenced to death for carrying 103kg of heroin and 27kg of opium.

Two others, Shahriyar Pourqarib and Iraj Ahmadi, were executed for their involvement in the armed smuggling of 596kg of opium.

The traffickers who were killed in the police clashes included two gang leaders. IRNA gave no further details, but said police also seized a number of weapons from the bandits.

Meanwhile, police have destroyed some 35,000 stalks of poppies over the past week in southern Iran, reports IRNA.

It said the crop was cultivated for production of narcotics in three mountain villages in the southern Fars province. IRNA said police were searching for those connected with the cultivation.

Also on Tuesday, police in the capital Tehran seized 108kg of opium and nine kilograms of heroin after dismantling a drug trafficking band. It gave no further details.