MEHRIZ, Yazd Prov -- Police forces Thursday seized 822 kilos of opium from traffickers in Mehriz in this central province.

Mehriz Police Chief Mehriz Aboutaleb Khalilian told IRNA here on Saturday that the bulk of the confiscated drug was hidden in a car.

An investigation has been launched to apprehend and punish those behind the illegal activity.

Iran sits on the crossroads of major drug trafficking routes and has been a major force in the global battle against illicit drugs.

According to official estimates, its anti-drug campaign costs the country about dlrs 800 million annually.

It is credited with 80 percent of the opium and 90 percent of the morphine intercepted worldwide by the International Narcotics Control Board.