TEHRAN – The Iranian anti-narcotics police have seized more than 250 tons of narcotics in the first six months of the current Iranian year (started on March 21), indicating a 20 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
The anti-narcotics police have disbanded 780 drug trafficking gangs across the country, IRNA quoted, Iraj Kakavand, the head of anti-narcotics police, as saying.
The official made the remarks at a press conference in Tehran on the occasion of the ‘national law enforcement week’, which is being held from October 2 to 8, under the theme ‘committed police, mobilized people, proud Iran’.
Over 7,000 smugglers were arrested and six were killed, more than 330 weapons, and 8,000 vehicles were confiscated, he added.
Monitoring social media, the police managed to arrest 196 individuals, seize over 460 kilograms of narcotics, more than 420,000 pills containing illicit drugs, and dismantle 14 gangs operating online, Kakavand further noted.
Supporting Iran’s counter-narcotics work pays off beyond its borders: UNODC
In August, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report, emphasizing the need to support Iran in the battle against narcotics.
Supporting Iran’s counternarcotics work pays off beyond its borders, the report highlighted, saying it keeps drugs from reaching other regions, cuts into the money that funds the organized crime and supports public health by slowing the spread of addictive synthetic substances.
The main seizure of methamphetamine in and around Middle East and South-East Asia over the past few years has been reported in Iran, according to the report which was published on Thursday.
Iranian seizure of methamphetamine increased from 30,393 kilos in 2022 to 40,453 kilos in 2025, placing the country at the forefront of the fight against drugs trafficking.
In the first quarter of 2026 alone, Iranian authorities have intercepted 3,663 kilograms of methamphetamines destined for Europe and the Persian Gulf.
These weren’t just street-level busts. These were five intelligence-led operations targeting industrial-scale shipments originating in Afghanistan, evidence that trafficking networks in the region are shifting toward synthetic drugs.
While international attention has primarily focused on the vast region’s declining opium production, advanced criminal drug trafficking networks have successfully shifted toward manufacturing and exporting synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, commonly known as meth. West Asia is now the epicenter of a synthetic drug boom.
Iran is strategically positioned along the “Afghanistan-West Asia corridor,” which serves as the primary trafficking route for these illicit commodities. The clear signal from Tehran is that these substantial shipments are being intercepted before they can reach international markets. Yet, sustained success will require enhanced international cooperation and support.
Each interception reduces the illicit financial flows that fund organized crime and slows the spread of synthetic drugs into new markets. These shipments are not merely statistics. Each seizure disrupts a supply chain that would otherwise put methamphetamine on the streets of Europe and the Persian Gulf, while cutting into the earnings of organized criminal networks.
Through its Country Partnership Programme as well as the Cooperation Framework with the Islamic Republic of Iran, UNODC supports the country efforts in advancing border technology with procurement of detection scanners, strengthening labs forensic capabilities in identify new synthetic compounds as well as regional intelligence sharing.
Sustained donor investment is critical to prevent this route from becoming a gateway for synthetic drugs. However, the scale of the challenge demands more than financial contributions—it requires a collective and sustainable approach by the international community. By supporting UNODC’s work in Iran, donor nations are investing in regional stability and international security, while also protecting their own borders from the flow of illicit substances.
MT/MG
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