Iran: 300 tons of narcotics seized by police in 7 months

Iran’s drug combat squads have seized 300 tons of various types of illicit drugs in seven months of operations in different parts of the country, Police Chief Brigadier General Esmayeel Ahmadi Moqaddam announced on Sunday. "We have succeeded in discovering 300 tons of drugs in the first seven months of the current (Iranian) year (which started on March 21), which shows a 20% growth compared to the same period last year," Ahmadi Moqaddam said in a meeting with the head of Italy's anti-drug agency in Tehran today. "We predict that the volume of (drug) discoveries will increase to 500 to 600 tons at the end of the current year," he added. 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 81 percent of the opium netted around the world. In March 2013, UN Undersecretary General and Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yuri Fedotov praised Iran's anti-narcotics efforts, and stressed that Iran is among the leading countries in the campaign against illicit drugs. Fedotov made the remarks in a meeting with former Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar on the sidelines of the 56th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, Austria. Iran has always complained about the EU and other international bodies' lack of serious cooperation with Iran in the campaign against drug trafficking from Afghanistan.