TEHRAN -- Head of Police Anti-Narcotics Affairs Colonel Mehdi Abouei said here Wednesday that over 3,500 addicts hangouts have been cleansed and 196,000 of addicts rounded up in the last Iranian year (ended March 20).

Speaking at a gathering of addicts families, he added that if the prisons and other related centers had adequate space then "we would arrest more smugglers and addicts," IRNA said. Currently, 150-200 petty dealers and addicts are arrested in Tehran daily, Abouei said, adding, "But, some of them, due to shortage of prison space, are let out into the streets."

He said the presence of addicts in public places conveys the impression that the police do not effectively deal with them.

Iran sits on the crossroads of the international drug trade which originates from sources in Afghanistan and Pakistan to markets in Central Asia, Europe and Persian Gulf littoral states.

The fight against drug trafficking, particularly in the eastern borders, has seen thousands of police officers killed in drug-related battles throughout the country over the past two decades.

There are about 1.8 million drug users in Iran of whom 600,000 abuse narcotic drugs occasionally. Most of the drug addicts consume opium but the consumption of heroin, in particular by injection, is on the rise.