TEHRAN – The Anti-Narcotics Headquarters follows three basic approaches to fight against drugs, one of which is through donors and public participation, Eskander Momeni, secretary general of the Anti-Narcotics Headquarters, has stated.

Public participation and the use of benefactors; the use of knowledge-based companies and smart plans; and the precedence of prevention with the priority of education are three approaches in anti-narcotics activities, he explained.

Iran is located in the neighborhood of Afghanistan, which has the highest production of narcotic drugs, and in the last 20 years, with the intervention of some countries, including the United States, the production has increased 50 times, from 200 tons to 9,500 tons, he said.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime attaches special importance to the regional and global role of Iran in the fight against narcotics.During this period, the production of man-made narcotics increased, and the raw materials, technology, and relevant knowledge were provided to Afghanistan, and some countries such as the United States, played a supporting role in this development, he further noted.

In this regard, focusing on the borders, big gangs, etc., is on the agenda of the anti-narcotics headquarters, and the support and help of people, charities, benefactors, etc., should also be used, Momeni added.

Although children under the age of 10 may also use drugs, the average age of drug use in the country is 24 years old, and with the use of some effective measures in this field, including the life support project, the upward trend has stopped.

In the world, the average age of drug use is 19 years, he further stated.

World record of narcotics seizure

Iran holds the record for narcotics confiscation in the world, Momeni said in December 2021.

However, great achievements in the field of countermeasures have been gained, and the United Nations has officially announced that 90 percent of opium, 48 percent of morphine, and 26 percent of world heroin have been discovered by Iran.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime attaches special importance to the regional and global role of Iran in the fight against narcotics and, as a leading United Nations agency, Alexander Fedulov, UNODC Iran Country Representative, said in June.

In the Iranian calendar year ended in March 2021, about 1,200 tons of drugs were discovered, which was the highest rate of discovery in the world.

Despite the conditions caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the imposition of harsh sanctions against the country, fortunately, with the efforts of anti-narcotics police in 2020, drug detection increased by 41 percent.

After the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), 3,800 were martyred, and 12,000 were wounded and disabled in the fight against drug trafficking.

The UNODC has praised Iran’s efforts to fight against narcotics trafficking on the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

The organization also officially announced that the world’s first place in the discovery of opium, heroin, and morphine belongs to Iran.

According to UNODC, Iran remains one of the major transit routes for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to European countries and has had a leading role at the global level in drug-control campaigns.

UNODC World Drug Report 2020 estimates that in 2018, 91 percent of world opium, 48 percent of the world morphine, and 26 percent of the world heroin were seized by Iran.

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