TEHRAN - Iran's anti-narcotics headquarters in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Iran held a specialized training on “Investigation of Crimes Related to Drug Trafficking” for a group of senior police officers, in Tehran.

UNODC has always been supportive of national partners through organizing training workshops for the anti-narcotic force, the UN website reported.

The workshop topic was chosen after talking to the officials in charge of the fight against drugs, and the given feedback by participants of previous trainings.

The workshop aimed at enhancing the operational knowledge and investigative capabilities of Iranian forces for investigating drug-related crimes.

The specialized training which was designed to cover topics related to the investigation of crimes related to drug trafficking was well received by the participants and assessment of the evaluation of the training workshop and feedback received from the participants indicated that the subjects covered by respected instructors were relevant to their expectations and in general the training session has been evaluated and rated as strongly fruitful and beneficial, the report added.

This event was organized as part of the activities foreseen in the framework of the Sup-program 1 “Border Management and Illicit Trafficking” of the UNODC Country Partnership Program (2023 - 2026) for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Global support essential in fight against narcotics

On October 8, Iran anti-narcotics police chief, Iraj Kakavand, in a meeting with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representative in Tehran, Alexander Fedulov, called it essential to support Iran in the fight against drug trafficking.

During the meeting, Fedulov said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been committed to a serious and decisive fight against narcotics at the regional and global level, IRIB reported.

Iran has spent a huge sum of money fighting the war on drugs, and apart from that, many anti-narcotics forces have sacrificed their lives in this way. The high number of martyrs and injured shows Iran's serious determination to deal with this scourge, the UN official added.

"Considering the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking, the UNODC and the international community support of Iran should be proportionate to the activities and actions at the regional and global level.”

He stated since new smuggling routes and concealment methods are emerging, it is necessary for the anti-narcotics police to be equipped with new detection equipment and tools. Needless to say, the UNODC in Tehran plays a prominent role in providing some of these tools.

Kakavand, for his part, highlighted the need to promote regional cooperation and said, “The Anti-Narcotics Police of Iran has always announced its readiness to collaborate and improve cooperation with all the countries in the region and the world to eradicate narcotics.”

Holding meetings with the anti-narcotics police of Pakistan and Afghanistan in the form of a tripartite initiative in previous years is a strong proof of this claim, he noted.

Iran successful in dealing with narcotics

On June 25, Fedulov said Iran should provide other countries of the world with its experiences in dealing with narcotics.

“The successful experiences of Iran’s anti-narcotics police in the field of combating drug transit should be made available to all countries in the region and the world in different ways,” he added.

The international community, while becoming more familiar with the countermeasures of the Islamic Republic of Iran, should provide more support for the fight against narcotics in this country, the UNODC official stressed.

Fedulov referred to the strengthening of the Joint Planning Cell (JPC) and conducting joint activities with other countries in the fight against drug trafficking as effective countermeasures and emphasized the need to boost cooperation.

In June 2022, Fedulov said UNODC attaches special importance to the regional and global role of Iran in the fight against narcotics and, as a leading United Nations agency, wishes to provide practical assistance to the Government of the Islamic Republic.

The UNODC Office attaches special importance to the regional and global role of the Islamic Republic in the fight against narcotics, and the discovery of narcotics by the law-enforcement forces of Iran shows the country’s efforts with the United Nations beyond the regional level, he explained.

“UNODC's current counter-narcotics program includes "Border Management and Trafficking", "Drug Prevention, Treatment, Rehabilitation, and HIV Care" and "Alternative Development and Sustainable Livelihoods", ISNA reported.

The second area of our cooperation is reducing the demand for drugs. I should mention that the areas of cooperation include increasing the capacities of service providers, piloting a capable family program; implementing a bio-dynamic plan prevention program, and establishing a regional center for the treatment of drug addicts.

UNODC has also provided items, including body scanners, installed at Imam Khomeini International Airport to help detect drugs,” he stated.

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.

MT/MG