TEHRAN (FNA)- At least nine members of a heavily armed drug trafficking ring have been killed during clashes with police and security forces in the southeastern province of Kerman on Tuesday.

The police killed nine drug smugglers and destroyed a large amount of weapons during the clash with the bandits in a desert area.

FNA reports said that during the first few minutes of the clash, a Land Cruiser carrying several bandits came under heavy fire and exploded.

Southeastern Iran, near Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a major smuggling route for drugs and other contraband. UN statistical figures say that 90 percent of the world's opium is produced in Afghanistan which shares a common border with Iran.

Earlier this month, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan agreed to a trilateral anti-drug plan, based on which Border Liaison Offices will be set up and joint operations will be carried out against drug traffickers.

More than 3,600 Iranian security personnel have died in the region fighting drug smugglers since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.

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