Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The anti-narcotics authorities of Iran and Turkey have agreed to forge closer cooperation in fighting illicit drugs, Press TV reported.

Iranian Anti-narcotics Police Chief, General Ali Moayedi, who is officially visiting Turkey, held talks with head of Istanbul's anti-drugs police Saleh Cemen in the Turkish city of Istanbul, on September 5 to discuss strategies to further deepen mutual collaboration.

The two officials underscored the need for both countries to exchange intelligence and experience, and keep each other informed of the latest development on fighting drugs in their respective countries.

Istanbul's drug enforcement chief said after his meeting with Moayedi that they discussed ways to expand police cooperation between the two nations, which are both major corridors for the smuggling of illicit drugs from east to west.

He further emphasized that one of the key strategies to fight drug trade is the timely exchange of intelligence between countries, adding Turkey has good cooperation with Iran in that regard.

Earlier, in March of this year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has named Iran the "number one partner".

UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov has said that in the war on drugs, Iran is the number one partner of the United Nations.

Iran lies on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states, and shares about 900 kilometers of a common border with Afghanistan, through which about 74 percent of opium is reportedly smuggled.

Iran's location has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who seek to smuggle their cargo from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe.

Iran has been actively fighting drug trafficking. According to official estimates, the fight against drugs annually costs Iran about $1 billion. The statistics also say that there are about 2 million drug users in Iran.

500 tons of drugs were reportedly seized during the last solar year and 115 tons during the first three months of the current solar year.

Owing to its rigid efforts, Iran makes 89 percent of the world's total opium seizures and has turned into the leading country in combating drugs.

Every year, Iran burns more than 60 tons of various seized drugs as a symbol of its determination to fight drugs.