Iran Press/ Iran news: "I hope that with mutual cooperation, we will take appropriate measures to combat drug trafficking at the level of two countries and the region," Brigadier General Majid Karimi said at a bilateral meeting between the Iranian and Russian anti-narcotics police chiefs.
The chief of Anti-Narcotics Police of Iran further pointed to the very high volume of narcotics production in Afghanistan and stated: "For about two years now, in addition to the production of traditional narcotics such as opium, morphine, and heroin, Afghanistan has unfortunately witnessed the production of methamphetamine due to the cost-effectiveness and low price of production in this country and its suitable market in European countries, Southwest and East Asia; in 2020, we were able to discover 21 tons of methamphetamine produced in Afghanistan on the eastern borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In another part of his remarks, the senior law enforcement official pointed to a 25% increase in the number of drug seizures in 2020 compared to 2019 by the Islamic Republic of Iran: "In 2020, with the exemplary sacrifice of my colleagues In the police force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the fact that the smugglers are equipped with advanced weapons, we fortunately managed to discover more than 1,000 tons of various drugs in Islamic Iran, which is an unprecedented record in its kind."
The Chief of the Russian Anti-Narcotics Police, General Osmorov, emphasized Russia's interest in improving the level of police cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran and added: "Countering the transit and trafficking of narcotics from Afghanistan to Russia is one of the most important goals of Russia and we always appreciate the efforts and seriousness of the Islamic Republic of Iran in preventing the smuggling of drugs produced by Afghanistan to other countries."
He added: "Since the outbreak of the coronavirus due to the closure of land and air borders, we are witnessing an increase in drug trafficking by sea and increasing coordination of measures between Russia and the Islamic Republic of Iran to prevent drug trafficking."
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