UNODC in Iran has been actively present in the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1999 and considers Iran as one of the strategic partners for drug control and crime prevention in the region. It has been supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran by providing technical assistance and training for years ever since its establishment, the UN website announced in a press release on January 3.

The comprehensive curriculum of this study visit encompassed various activities and topics, inter alia session on “Construction and structure of an optimal canine center, management of an optimal canine center; staffing of an optimal canine center; breeding, health, treatment, food, etc. for drug-detecting dogs”, the report added.

The theoretical courses including different lectures and seminars, were complemented by practical training.

The attendees learned about the specific ways of training and dealing with working dogs. They also acquired needed practical knowledge for managing kennels.

According to the report, the members of the Iranian delegation visited the veterinary ward and had the opportunity to directly ask their questions from the specialized medical staff. The head of the medical center provided the delegation with pertinent information and answered questions regarding structure, staffing, equipment, and other technical aspects of the management of the veterinary ward.

At the end of the training and pursuant to the official ceremony at the Regional Customs Canine Centre of Uzbekistan, memorial trees were planted to symbolize enduring fellowship among partners in Iran and Uzbekistan and continuous cooperation in the future.

Highlighting the importance of international cooperation in the fight against narcotics, Alexander Fedulov, the UNODC representative in Tehran, hoped that future activities of a similar nature would continue upon the provision of support by donors.

Global support essential in fight against narcotics

Iran anti-narcotics police chief, Iraj Kakavand, in a meeting with Fedulov, called it essential to support Iran in the fight against drug trafficking.

During the meeting, which was held in October 2023, 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 dealing with narcotics

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.

During the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 21, 2023,  drug seizures have increased by 21 percent compared to the same period last year.

Since the beginning of the current year, some 470 tons of narcotics have been seized from smugglers all over the country, Mehr News Agency quoted Kakavand as saying.

“We are witnessing a 21-percent rise in seizures of narcotics originating from Afghanistan,” he added.

A large number of smugglers have also been identified and arrested in this regard, Kakavand stressed.

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, 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 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 2023, Momeni said some 1,700 regional and international drug gangs were dismantled by Iran in the past year.

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.

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The joint plan of action is to be implemented over 2023-2024. It will be the main base of cooperation with UNICEF in combating narcotics.

The joint activities will be defined and carried out in cooperation with relevant national institutions, Fars reported.

Also, in the past four years through implementing two joint plans of action, some activities have been carried out for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse among adolescents.

Setting up two health and rehabilitation centers for at-risk adolescents in two provinces of the country, which are known as exemplary centers providing services to the target community, was one of the measures taken in this regard.

Previous co-op

On October 15, UNICEF and the Iranian anti-narcotics headquarters cooperated to develop an emergency protocol for staff working with at-risk adolescents to enhance their capacity for addressing youth needs during emergencies. They also held two workshops in August and September, the UNICEF website reported.

Thanks to these programs, social workers, experts, counselors, volunteers, and peers will be able to provide much more effective services in case of any emergencies to vulnerable youth, adolescents, and their families.

The aim of these workshops was to expand the technical needs of those working with vulnerable and at-risk girls to provide more efficient services to them in case of emergencies.

During the workshops, in addition to capacity building on crisis management and specialized interventions, a protocol for UNICEF-supported Adolescent Wellbeing Centers in Mashhad and Kermanshah was developed to strengthen their emergency response capacity.

In May, Eskandar Momeni, the secretary general of the Iranian anti-narcotics headquarters, said some 1,700 regional and international drug gangs were dismantled by Iran in the year 2022.

“Iran is located next to Afghanistan, the largest producer of opioids, the second largest producer of cannabis, and recently the producer of glass (methamphetamine),” he added.

Momeni made the remarks in a meeting with Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir Kamel Al-Shammari on the sidelines of the first Baghdad International Drug Control Conference which was held from May 9-10.

Setting up about 800 coastal checkpoints in the Persian Gulf, strengthening and developing electronic and electro-optical equipment, and installing land-based radars and specialized cameras are among Iran’s measures to deal with maritime smuggling, Momeni explained.

Momeni signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghada Fathi Waly, the director general of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (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.

The agreement opens a new chapter in Iran’s cooperation with the United Nations in the four areas of dealing with the supply and demand of narcotics, and offering treatment and rehabilitation services, Momeni said, IRIB reported.

“Valuable measures to reduce the rate of infectious diseases such as HIV (AIDS) and hepatitis among addicts have been taken. Setting up healthcare, rehabilitation, and consultation centers, and empowering women and girls in cooperation with the UNODC and UNICEF offices in the cities of Tehran, Kerman, and Kermanshah were among the measures.”

In October, 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.

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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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In this operation, 590 kilos of heroin, which were skillfully embedded in iron profiles and stored in a shed in the suburbs, were seized in the northwestern city of Tabriz.

Five members of the gang, who were involved in smuggling and transit of narcotics to Europe, have been arrested, three of whom are citizens of a neighboring foreign country and the rest are Iranian.

Naser Aslani, an official with the anti-narcotics police, said on Thursday that more than 43 tons of narcotics have been confiscated from smugglers across the country over the past two weeks.

Also, 939 vehicles and 30 weapons were confiscated as well, he stated, adding, meanwhile, a total of 12,992 culprits have been arrested in connection with plans implemented for dealing with drug trafficking.

Most recently, the police have disbanded two large smuggling gangs in the eastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, discovering around 1.1 tons of narcotics.

Battle continues despite sanctions, pandemic

Iran has carried on a battle against narcotics in spite of being highly affected by cruel sanctions and COVID-19 pandemic, Eskandar Momeni, the director of headquarters for the fight against narcotics, said on April 13.

Last year (March 2020 – March 2021), amid the pandemic, Iran participated in more than 20 regional and international events online, in cooperation with the UNODC office in Tehran, he highlighted.

The counter-narcotics agencies and police forces succeeded in detecting about 1,150 tons of various types of narcotics by strengthening the mechanisms for monitoring and exchanging information between the responsible organizations.

This volume of discoveries is a new and unprecedented record in the fight against drugs, which shows a growth of about 41 percent compared to 2019; some 90 percent of the substances found were opium, 26 percent heroin, and 48 percent morphine.

This success has been achieved with the martyrdom of 10 law enforcement and counter-narcotics forces in the global front against drug transit.

After the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), 3,800 were martyred, 12,000 were wounded and disabled in the fight against drug trafficking.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (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 the drug-control campaigns.

UNODC World Drug Report 2020 estimates that in 2018, 91 percent of world opium, 48 percent of the world morphine, and 26 percent of the world heroin were seized by Iran.

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Ahmad Ali Goodarzi, border commander of the police force, announced the confiscation of several weapons, a significant amount of ammunition in Sistan-Baluchestan province during two operations.

“In one of the operations, police forces dismantled a gang and confiscated nearly 821 kilograms of narcotics, and in the other operation, 267 kilograms of narcotics were seized from smugglers.”

During the missions, two vehicles have been seized,” Goodarzi added.

Iran’s fight against drugs continues despite sanctions, pandemic

Iran has carried on a battle against narcotics in spite of being highly affected by cruel sanctions and COVID-19 pandemic, Eskandar Momeni, the director of headquarters for the fight against narcotics, said on April 13.

Last year (March 2020 – March 2021), amid the pandemic, Iran has participated in more than 20 regional and international events online, in cooperation with the UNODC office in Tehran, he highlighted, IRNA reported on Tuesday.

The counter-narcotics agencies and police forces succeeded in detecting about 1,150 tons of various types of narcotics by strengthening the mechanisms for monitoring and exchanging information between the responsible organizations.

This volume of discoveries is a new and unprecedented record in the fight against drugs, which shows a growth of about 41 percent compared to 2019; some 90 percent of the substances found were opium, 26 percent heroin, and 48 percent morphine.

This success has been achieved with the martyrdom of 10 law enforcement and counter-narcotics forces in the global front against drug transit.

After the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), 3,800 were martyred, 12,000 were wounded and disabled in the fight against drug trafficking.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (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 the drug-control campaigns.

UNODC World Drug Report 2020 estimates that in 2018, 91 percent of world opium, 48 percent of the world morphine, and 26 percent of the world heroin were seized by Iran.

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Eskandar Momeni, who left Tehran for Vienna on Sunday, is scheduled to address the CND meeting opening ceremony.

The CND confab will run from March 12 to 14.

Momeni will also hold separate meetings with senior UNODC officials as well as the heads of participating delegations.

The UNODC is the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Simultaneously, Iran will also hold an exhibition of the country’s anti-narcotic measures at the venue of the UN in Vienna.

Iran, which has a 900-kilometer border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins across the world, especially Europe.

Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past decades.

Iran has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.

The war on drugs has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police forces over the past four decades.

Just on Sunday, the police commander of the border province of Sistan-Balouchestan announced drug combat squads had confiscated 2,956 kilograms of different illicit drugs in Khash County. Second Brigadier General Mohammad Ghanbari said 1.492 tons of morphine, 1.442 tons of opium, and 22 kilograms crystal were seized from smugglers.

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was established by Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 9(I) in 1946, to assist the ECOSOC in supervising the application of the international drug control treaties. In 1991, the General Assembly (GA) expanded the mandate of the CND to enable it to function as the governing body of the UNODC.

ECOSOC resolution 1999/30 requested the CND to structure its agenda with two distinct segments: a normative segment for discharging treaty-based and normative functions; and an operational segment for exercising the role as the governing body of UNODC.

The CND meets annually when it considers and adopts a range of decisions and resolutions. The intercessional meetings of the CND are regularly convened to provide policy guidance to the UNODC. Towards the end of each year, the CND meets at a reconvened session to consider budgetary and administrative matters as the governing body of the United Nations drug program.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – The anti-narcotics police of Tehran Province have dismantled 400 smuggling bands and seized over 100 tons of different illicit drugs in the past six years.

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Secretary-General of Iran Anti-Narcotics Headquarters Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni arrived in China on Monday at the invitation of the Chinese Minister of Public Security.

Speaking to reporters, the Iranian general said he sought to promote cooperation between Iran and China in various fields of anti-narcotics efforts.

“The two countries share views on the war on narcotics, and such common views have prepared the ground for close cooperation,” Momeni said, adding that he would discuss various plans with the Chinese officials to share experiences in the war on illicit drugs.

During a visit to China, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani signed a memorandum of understanding on the fight against narcotics, the general said, noting that he will be pursuing efforts to implement the agreement.

“In this visit, we will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various fields of the war on drugs, such as countering, treatment, mitigating damages, and prevention at the level of regional and international diplomacy,” Momeni stated.

In November 2019, Iran’s minister of interior and China’s ambassador to Tehran discussed plans for cooperation between the police forces of the two countries and the fight against terrorism and narcotics.

Momeni had announced in June 2019 that despite the US sanctions’ negative impact on Iran’s campaign on illicit drugs, the country captures 800 tons of narcotics each year.

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.

Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past decades.

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