TEHRAN - The chief of Iran’s Anti-Drug Police says that 612 drug-related cases are handled each day in the country and the police seize an average of 1075 kilograms of illicit drugs per day.     

 

Brigadier General Ali Moayyedi made the remarks during a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, two days before the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which is observed on June 26.

 

The police has seized 100 tons of various types of illicit drugs, including 80 tons of opium, during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, Moayyedi said.

 

He added that the total volume of drug seizures has increased by 11 percent compared with the same period last year. 

 

He said that 80 percent of the seizures are made along the borders of the country and the largest amount of illicit drugs has been seized in the southern provinces of Hormozgan, Sistan and Baluchestan, and Kerman.

 

Since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year, 70,000 criminals involved in drugs have been arrested and 57,000 cases have been litigated.   

 

In reply to a question about the Iranian nationals who were recently executed in Saudi Arabia for alleged involvement in drug trafficking, Moayyedi said, “We do not justify the acts of the Iranian nationals… but we have objection to the way the nationals have been dealt with.”   

 

“They have executed the Iranian nationals without providing us with the necessary information,” he added.

 

On May 30, the Persian service of the Tabnak news website reported that Saudi Arabia executed 10 Iranian citizens in Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Province, for alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

 

Commenting on the Islamic Republic’s leading role in the international war on drugs, Moayyedi said that all international authorities have acknowledged the effectiveness of Iran in this endeavor. 

 

According to the United Nations, Iran ranks first among all countries in the world in shutting down drug routes into its territory. 

 

With a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Afghanistan, Iran has been used as the main conduit for smuggling illicit drugs from its neighbor to drug kingpins in Europe. 

 

In response, the Iranian government has spent over $700 million to seal its borders and prevent the transit of illicit drugs destined for European, Middle Eastern, and Central Asian countries. 

 

Despite the presence of U.S. and British troops in Afghanistan and their extensive public relations campaign about their efforts to eliminate the production and smuggling of drugs, 3,600 tons of opium was produced in Afghanistan in 2010, based on UN statistics and estimates.