Iran's South Khorassan provincial police said on Sunday that 30 tons of illicit drugs were seized in the eastern border province during the last Iranian year (ending on March 19), the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Ahmad Ali Goudarzi, the police chief of the province bordering Afghanistan, revealed the information while addressing a gathering of police trainers and instructors in the eastern city of Birjand.

In October 2011, Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad- Najjar said the country planned to beef up border control to fight drug smuggling in the wake of increasing production of illicit drugs in neighboring Afghanistan.

According to the minister's earlier speech, Iran has spent over 700 million U.S. dollars to fortify its borders and some 3,600 troop members have been killed in fighting with drug traffickers near eastern border areas.

Iran is located at the crossroad of the international drug smuggling route from Afghanistan, the world's top opium producer, to Europe.