TEHRAN – Iran has planned to block the borders in the coming years to prevent drug smuggling, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

Due to the need to block the borders in order to fight narcotics trafficking, meetings were held and issues were raised in the Majlis [Iranian parliament] so far, Vali Eskandari, member of the parliament said.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), more than 224,000 hectares of farms in Afghanistan were planted with poppies in 2020, which is a 37 percent increase compared to a year before.

The discovery of more than 20 tons of methamphetamine transited from Afghanistan into Iran over the past year (March 2020-March 2021), shows the multiplication of the production of narcotics in the neighboring country, police chief Majid Karimi, said.

The discovery of more than 76 percent of narcotics on the eastern and southeastern borders indicates the success of the police force in this area, he further stated.

Iran is the leading country in the fight against narcotics worldwide; despite its proximity to Afghanistan, which is the largest producer of narcotics, he explained.

According to the UN Office, the Islamic Republic's continuous efforts to combat narcotics trafficking came up with the seizure of more than 90 percent of opium, 70 percent of morphine, and 20 percent of world heroin.

‘Common understanding, global action’

Iranian deputy anti-narcotics police chief Naqi Mahmoudi has stressed that the drug trafficking fight requires a common understanding and action by all members of the international community, and no country alone can address the challenges in this area.

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, 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.

FB/MG