‘Europe indebted to Iran for fighting drug trafficking’

European countries owe Iran a lot for blocking the transit of drugs destined for Europe, the head of the Iranian anti-narcotics police says, noting the Islamic Republic confiscated over 1,200 tons of illicit narcotics last year.

Majid Karimi, however, slammed Europe for depriving the Islamic Republic of the latest technology to fight drug trafficking in line with sanctions spearheaded by the US, while they directly benefit from Iran’s anti-drugs measures.

“If the Islamic Republic of Iran stops the fight (against drugs) for only a month, the European countries will have to gather every gram of the huge hauls of drugs from their streets,” he warned.

Iran is a major transit route for drug trafficking from its eastern neighbor Afghanistan to European countries and has been praised by international organizations, including United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), for its role in cutting supply lines to the West.

Afghanistan has been among the world’s major suppliers of opium and heroin. Drug smuggling from Afghanistan gathered pace during the 20-year occupation of the county by US-led forces.

Thousands of Iranian forces have been killed in the fight against drug trafficking over the past 40 years.

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