Envoy Gives Report on Iran’s War on Drugs
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s ambassador to the international organizations in Vienna gave a brief report of the country’s fight against drug trafficking in 2020, saying statistics attest to the Islamic Republic’s position as a flag-bearer in the anti-narcotics war.
In a letter to Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Kazem Gharibabadi said the Iranian security forces have seized more than 1,147 tons of illicit drugs in 2020.
He said the volume of drugs confiscated in Iran in 2020 has increased by 41 percent compared to a year before.
He noted that the Iranian anti-narcotics forces were involved in 2,851 armed clashes with drug smugglers during 2020, disbanding 2,196 drug rings and distribution networks.
Ten Iranian forces have been martyred in the Islamic Republic’s war on drugs in 2020, the envoy said in the letter.
“We are critical of the inaction of relevant international organizations and countries in discharging their common responsibility of supporting programs to fight narcotics. We would like this approach to be corrected,” Gharibabadi said in the letter, according to the government’s website.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
The Iranian Police and security forces have been quite successful in ensuring security in the large province Sistan and Balouchestan despite its long borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, harsh weather and vast desert areas.