UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov[/caption]TEHRAN (FNA)- Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov voiced the UN body's pleasure in the unparalleled efforts made by Iran in its massive campaign against drug trafficking all throughout the past decades.
"No country in the world can compete with Iran when it comes to the amount of the narcotics discovered and seized," Fedotov told reporters on the sidelines of an international meeting on anti-drug campaign.
He noted that UNODC and Iran are planning further mutual cooperation in the fight against narcotics, and said, "The UNODC and Iran will finalize a five-year anti-drug plan in the next two months."
Fedotov said after holding meetings with senior Iranian anti-drug officials, the UNODC has prepared a list of the equipment needed by Iran, but the country could not have supplied them due to the western sanctions.
"After being finalized, the list will be reviewed in an upcoming meeting of the UNODC in New York and we will try to supply Iran with the needed equipment," the UNODC executive director promised.
According to the UNODC World Drug Report, Iran accounted for the highest rate of opium seizures (80 percent) as well as heroin seizures (30 percent) in the world last year.
According to official estimates, Iran's battle against drugs cost the country around $1 billion annually. Strategies pursued by Tehran include digging canals, building barriers and installing barbed wire to seal the country's borders, specially in the East.
Iran has recently established a central database and strengthened police-judiciary cooperation in a new effort to combat organized crime.
Every year, Iran burns more than 60 tons of seized narcotics as a symbol of its determination to fight drugs.
By Fars News Agency
