Pubdate: Sun, 2 Jul 2000 Source: Reuters Copyright: 2000 Reuters Limited. IRAN KILLS TWO DRUG TRAFFICKERS, ARRESTS RINGLEADER SHIRAZ, Iran, July 2 (Reuters) - Police killed two members of a drug gang and arrested their ringleader in a shootout in southern Iran, a police official said on Sunday. Brigadier-General Hossein Zolfaqari told reporters in the southern city of Shiraz that the gang of "bandits," led by druglord Amir Narouie, were responsible for kidnappings and distribution of drugs. He said members of Narouie's clan were involved in a number of kidnappings of foreign tourists in drug-infested regions of southeastern Iran last year. The general said more than 380 kg (836-lb) of drugs, mainly hashish, had been seized from the gang along with weapons. Iran is a main transit route for drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan, the so-called "Golden Crescent," to the lucrative markets of Europe and the oil-rich Arab states. The country also faces its own drug abuse problem with an estimated two million addicts and casual users in a population of more than 60 million. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D