Iran Urges Global Campaign against Narcotics

In remarks on Thursday, Secretary of the Iran Drug Control Headquarters Eskandar Momeni underlined that the scourge of drugs is an international and multifaceted issue.

“The International Day against Drug Absue and Illicit Trafficking can contribute heavily to the promotion of public awareness and urge member states of the United Nations to upgrade regional and international cooperation to fight the production and distribution of narcotics and can decrease demand and the harm caused by drugs and can play a key role in the prevention and help treat and rehabilitate drug addicts,” he noted.

“Today, the issue of drugs is no longer a social malady and a health problem limited to a certain society of region,” Momeni warned, adding, “Rather, it has gone beyond geographical boundaries and has gone beyond all global borders while being linked to organized crime, corruption and money laundering.”

The Iranian official then expressed regret that the youth, who are the driving force behind the development of societies, are among the prime victims of narcotics.

He also touched upon the measures adopted by Iran to combat narco-trafficking and said the Islamic Republic has paid a heavy price, both in terms of funds and human cost, to counter drug-trafficking.

Momeni finally called on all countries to work together both at the regional level and internationally to fight narcotics.

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.

The country 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 drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.