TEHRAN - Iran Law Enforcement Force said on Tuesday, it had seized about 190 tones of drugs in the year to March 21 2001, but that this amount was less than a fifth of all drugs shipped into the country each year.

"We have not been successful in combating demand for drugs," a senior police official said on state television, adding that about 1,000 tones of drugs entered Iran each year.

"I suggest we send addicts out to camps for rehabilitation and give them one or two chances to quit. If they don't, we must keep them there for life," the official said.

Iran, a main route for drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the west, has waged war on narcotics,arresting and killing many traffickers.

According to official estimates, some two million of Iran's 63 million- population are addicted to drugs. But experts say the figure is far higher.