TEHRAN – A total of 482 tons of narcotics have been seized countrywide since the beginning of the current [Iranian calendar] year (March 21), Mohammad Masoud Zahedian, deputy chief of the Iranian anti-narcotics police, has announced.

Over the aforementioned period, 482.254 tons of various narcotics were discovered, most of which was opium, followed by heroin, morphine, methamphetamine, and hashish, he stated, IRNA reported.

Noting that the reason for the decrease in drug discovery is the control measures at the borders and the decrease in the production of drugs in Afghanistan, he said that narcotic seizures decreased by 36 percent compared to the same period last year.

Over the first eight months of this year, compared to the same period last year, 6 anti-narcotic police forces have been martyred, which is less than the same period last year, he also stated.

He went on to say that the eastern provinces and border of the country have had the most drug discoveries during this period, which indicates the concentrated measures in these areas.

Leading country in narcotics seizure

Iran holds the record for narcotics confiscation in the world, Eskander Momeni, secretary general of the Anti-Narcotics Headquarters 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), more than 3,800 have been martyred, and 12,000 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 the world's opium, 48 percent of the world's morphine, and 26 percent of the world's heroin were seized by Iran.

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