8% increase in crystal meth seizure in Iran

TEHRAN, Oct. 18 (MNA) -- Compared with last year, seizure of crystal meth (methamphetamine) has increased by eight percent, a police commander has announced.
Police have seized 641 kg of crystal meth over the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 20, 2010), Hamid Reza Hossein-Abadi, commander of the anti-drug squad of the Law Enforcement Forces, told on Saturday.
Hossein-Abadi further noted that 18,000 crystal meth smugglers have been identified in the country so far.

Almost all the drug produced in Iran is transited to Southeast Asian countries, he added.

Hossein-Abadi went on to say that on average one Iranian national is arrested every day on charges of possessing illegal drugs in Southeast Asian countries.

The increase in the number of Iranian nationals carrying illegal drugs in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and recently in Syria and Turkey has damaged Iran’s image abroad, he lamented.

Therefore, police have taken serious measures to deal with crystal meth traffickers, Hossein-Abadi added.

He explained that all of the Iranians’ packages are controlled by police upon their arrival in Southeast Asian countries, adding this has put other Iranians in trouble.

He added these countries use special facilities including drug-sniffing dogs and security X-ray machines to detect drug smugglers.

Recently, Iranians transit illegal drugs to Southeast Asian nations through a third country, Hossein-Abadi stated.