Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni made the remarks at a conference addressing the various aspects of drug precursor production and diversion, held on Monday in Tehran, with participation of ambassadors and representatives of a number of countries, as well as CICA member states.

Momeni hailed the effective measures taken by CICA in economic, security, social and cultural fields, noting the implementation of Iran’s programs as the drug control coordinator at the CICA.

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a forum for dialogues and consultations on regional security issues in Asia, with 26 member states, including Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, and India.

Momeni went on to voice concern over the 78% rise in the production of narcotics in Afghanistan in 2017 as compared to last year, saying “Afghanistan has produced a record high of 10,000 tons of narcotics, which is a matter of concern for the international community.”

He added that Iran is following up on plans to block eastern borders in order to have a tighter control over the transit of illicit drugs, saying the measure will be also implemented on western borders and along the Balkans.

Momeni then noted that Iran’s Police has carried out over 1,000 intelligence-based counter-narcotics operations in the past nine months, adding that 1,241 smuggling rings and 99 narcotics manufacturing plants were destroyed during the operations.

He added that the operations also led to the confiscation of 500 tons of various kinds of drugs, including 32 tons of heroin and morphine, together with 543 guns.

The deputy police chief maintained that as many as 3,890 Iranian forces have lost their lives during counter-narcotics operations.