Iranian cops seize tons of narcotics; Blame U.S. and NATO for drug problem
Meanwhile, the commander of the anti-narcotics squad of Iran’s Law Enforcement Police, General Ali Moayyedi, said, “The Iranian police seized 525 tons of narcotics over the last 12 months.” General Moayyedi also noted that the illegal substances opium, hashish and heroin comprise most of the illicit drugs seized from drug traffickers in Iran.
While Afghanistan is blamed for producing and trafficking of various types of narcotic in the region, Iranian cops say that Pakistan is also an exporter of narcotics which flood the Iranian streets. The anti-drug squads of Iran’s Law Enforcement Police have intensified their war against drug-trafficking gangs through long-term systematic law enforcement operations since 2010.
According to former narcotics officer, Joseph “Jo-Jo” Petrocelli, the Iranian anti-narcotic units have staged periodic, albeit short-term, operations against drug traffickers and street-level dealers, but the latest reports reveal that the world’s most hard-hitting and dedicated anti-narcotic force (as U.N. drug-campaign assessments put it) has embarked on a long-term countrywide plan to crack down on the drug trade since five years ago.
The Iranian police officials maintain that drug production in Afghanistan has undergone a 40-fold increase since the U.S. invasion of the country in 2001. While Afghanistan produced only 185 tons of opium per year under the Taliban, according to the U.N. statistics, since the US-led invasion, drug production has surged to 3,400 tons annually.
In 2007, the opium trade reached an estimated all-time production high of 8,200 tons and Afghanistan government officials blame Washington and NATO for the change, saying that allies have “overlooked” the drug problem since invading the country more than 14 years ago.