DUSHANBE, August 3, 2010, Asia-Plus – Commander of the anti-narcotic squad of Iran”s Law Enforcement Police General Hamid Reza Hossein-Abadi cautioned about the dire consequences of growing drug production in Afghanistan, and underlined the necessity for the adoption of stricter measures to curb drug production in the war-torn country, Iran’s Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.
“Plantation and production of narcotics in Afghanistan is the root cause of the most part of the complicated problem of drug-trafficking and addiction in West Asia and the world,” Hossein-Abadi said addressing a gathering of the anti-drug police chiefs of ECO member states in Tehran yesterday.
The anti-drug police chiefs of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states convened in a meeting in Tehran on Monday to discuss ways to boost drug campaign in the region.
“Terrorism and narcotics are the two sides of the same coin, fighting either one them separately will not yield a result,” Hossein-Abadi noted.
He pointed to the consequences of drug addiction, and noted, “Narcotics and their consequences are extraordinarily important both in terms of security and social health.”
“The growing spread of narcotics in the last decade and its harmful consequence on economic, social and political structures of human community have caused many problems and major challenges throughout the world,” Hossein-Abadi reiterated.
The commander further pointed to Iran”s efforts in the war on narcotics and drug-traffickers, and said in 2009 the ECO member states discovered and seized 1,105 tons of illicit drugs from traffickers, 700 tons of which were discovered by the Iranian police.
Iran leads international efforts in fighting drug networks and narcotic traffickers. According to the statistical figures released by the UN, Iran ranks first among the world countries in preventing entry of drugs and decreasing demand for narcotics.
The United Nations credits Iran with the seizure of 80 percent of the opium netted around the world.
Iran lies on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Iranian police have lost more than 3500 of their personnel in the country”s combat against narcotics.
Eastern Iran borders Afghanistan, which is the world”s number one opium and drug producer. Iran”s geographical position has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who intend to smuggle their cargoes from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe.
Each year, the Iranian government spends hundreds of millions of dollars erecting barriers along the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan and pumping resources into checkpoints. Officials said the battle against drug addiction and trafficking costs Iran at US$1 billion a year.
