Pubdate: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press IRAN SEIZES TONS OF DRUGS IN RAID TEHRAN, Iran - Anti-drug agents seized several tons of drugs in eastern and southeastern Iran, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday. It said 6,700 pounds of opium, 1,050 pounds of hashish, 110 pounds of morphine and 110 pounds of heroin were seized from drug traffickers in several raids. Agents also confiscated more than 300 pounds of opium in a separate operation in the northwestern city of Salmas, the agency said. IRNA did not say when the drug raids occurred or if any arrests were made. Large drug hauls are common in Iran, which lies on a route used by smugglers to take drugs from Pakistan and Afghanistan to the oil-rich Gulf and Europe. Iran has been cracking down on drug smugglers since 1988. Hundreds of traffickers have been hanged under a law that mandates the death penalty for anyone caught with more than a small quantity of narcotics. - --- MAP posted-by: derek rea