TEHRAN Iran's police have seized some 950 kilograms of narcotics and arrested 22 people in the past five days, the Anti-Drug Department of the Islamic Republic of Iran Police (IRIP) said in a statement on Thursday.

The confiscated haul were discovered in separate police operations in West Azarbaijan Province, as well as southern provinces of Yazd, Hormozgan and Fars, IRNA reported.

Iran is a major route for smuggling drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan to markets in the Persian Gulf, Europe and as well as Central Asian nations.

Official reports say 3,100 Iranian police officers have lost their lives in drug-related battles throughout Iran over the past twenty years.