TEHRAN – The bill on combating and preventing narcotics will be submitted to the Majlis (Iranian parliament) in the coming days, said Eskander Momeni, secretary general of the anti-narcotics headquarters.

The bill was sent to the government from the judiciary and will be sent to the parliament as soon as possible by the president’s decree, he explained, ISNA reported.

He went on to say that the country has used all its capacities to fight against drug smuggling, focusing on three approaches targeted and smart combat, informative measures, focus on borders, and use of modern equipment.

The result of the approaches has been an increase in seizing the financial properties of smugglers, a decrease in martyrs of anti-narcotics missions, an increase in casualties and criminals, and an increase in discoveries, he further stated.

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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