TEHRAN – The actions of Iran in the fight against drug trafficking and transit are commendable, Christian Hoppe, a criminal investigator at Germany’s Federal Criminal Police, has stated.

He made the remarks in an online meeting with Iran’s anti-narcotics police chief, Majid Karimi, held on Wednesday.

The countermeasures of the Islamic Republic in the field of drug trafficking are considerable, he said, expressing readiness to enhance bilateral cooperation in this regard.

Referring to the challenges facing Germany, including the production of marijuana and methamphetamine, the smuggling of cocaine from Latin America, and the production of heroin in Afghanistan, said that we are ready to cooperate in areas such as the exchange of experiences and sciences, anti-narcotics police dogs, and technical equipment for narcotics detection.

Karimi also expressed hope that by improving the joint cooperation, we will see desirable and appropriate measures in the field of counter-narcotics at the regional and international levels.

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.

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