TEHRAN – The Iranian anti-narcotics police appreciate the Government of Japan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for their support in dealing with narcotics.

The international community's support for the anti-narcotics police is very little against the massive amount of drug threats, Nosratollah Barin, the deputy chief of the anti-narcotics police, said.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Aikawa Kazutoshi, the Japanese ambassador, and Alexander Fedulov, the UNODC representative, in Tehran on Tuesday, ISNA reported.

On the sidelines of the meeting, drug detection equipment provided by UNODC and Japan was delivered to the Iranian police.

The provision of modern drug detection equipment to the country is crucial since Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drugs, Barin stressed. 

Combating drug ‘a global issue’

The Japanese envoy, for his part, said that the fight against narcotics and drug trafficking is a global issue that demands the widespread contribution of all countries.

He went on to say, "Japan praises Iran's efforts in this regard and continuously supports its fight against illegal drugs."

The UNODC official also praised Iran's notable achievements and measures in the fight against drugs. He pointed out that being equipped with technical assistance and drug-sniffing dogs, the anti-narcotics police will be able to play a key role in the global community’s health.

The front line

Iran is known as the first station and the front line of dealing with all kinds of drugs due to its location on the European transit route of Afghan drugs.

The fight against narcotics is very expensive due to the complexity of the mafia level of this business, a cost that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been paying alone for years despite the support claims of the international community.

On average, more than 90 percent of opium discoveries, 27 percent of heroin discoveries, and 59 percent of morphine discoveries in the world are made by Iran, Mohsen Naziri Asl, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, has said.

Some 716 tons of narcotics were discovered and seized in the past Iranian calendar year (March 2022-March 2023), he added.

The flow of narcotics into Iran has decreased by about 15 percent over the past four years, Eskandar Momeni, the secretary general of the Iranian anti-narcotics headquarters, has said.

The impact of dismantling the financial foundations of drug traffickers has increased by about 10 times over the past three to four years, he said, adding “This has led to a decrease of 15 percent in the entry of drugs into Iran.”

“The rising trend of drug production in Afghanistan started about 20 years ago, after the occupation of Afghanistan by NATO and the United States.

Therefore, the smuggling of narcotics has increased almost 50 times, that is, from about 200 tons in 2000 to more than 9,000 tons,” Momeni said, ISNA reported.

In May, Momeni said some 1,700 regional and international drug gangs were dismantled by Iran in the year 2022.

Momeni signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghada Fathi Waly, the director general of the UNODC on the sidelines of the 66th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) that was held in Vienna from March 13-17.

MT/MG