Pubdate: Mon, 02 Jul 2001 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2001, Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonSun/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 IRAN ARRESTS THOUSANDS OF ADDICTS TEHRAN -- Police have carried out a major crackdown on drug trafficking and abuse during the past week, arresting 11,892 addicts and traders, and killing nine traffickers in shootouts, Iran's official news agency said yesterday. Police confiscated 885 kg of drugs in the four-day sweep conducted across the nation, the Islamic Republic News Agency said. The secretary general of Iran's anti-drug department, Mohammad Fallah, said Iran has 1.2 million drug addicts and another 800,000 occasional drug users. Fallah said that 3,111 Iranian police officers and soldiers have been killed in clashes with traffickers since 1979. - --- MAP posted-by: GD