Commander: Drug-Traffickers See NATO as “Safe Haven”

A senior Iranian anti-narcotics police commander lambasted the NATO forces in Afghanistan for increasing drug production and trafficking, saying they have created a safe haven for drug-traffickers.

Speaking in a meeting with Bulgaria’s representative in counternarcotics affairs here in Tehran on Tuesday, Commander of the anti-narcotics squad of Iran’s Law Enforcement Police General Ali Moayyedi said the westerners’ claims about support for human rights are nothing but “slogans”.

“The evidence substantiating our claim is the growth in the production of narcotics in Afghanistan after the presence of the occupying forces in that country,” Moayyedi said.

“The statistical figures show today that NATO’s soldiers provide a safe shelter for drug-traffickers and have themselves assisted with the growth of drug production,” the commander noted.

Iran has always lambasted the NATO forces in Afghanistan for increasing drug cultivation, production and trafficking in Afghanistan, and said that almost all the world opium production is done in front of the eyes of the foreign troops in Afghanistan.

Eastern Iran borders Afghanistan, which is the world’s number one opium and drug producer. Iran’s geographical position has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who intend to smuggle their cargoes from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe.

Iran spends billions of dollars and has lost thousands of its police troops in the war against traffickers. Owing to its rigid efforts, Iran makes 89 percent of the world’s total opium seizures and has turned into the leading country in drug campaign.

The Iranian police officials maintain that drug production in Afghanistan has undergone a 40-fold increase since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

While Afghanistan produced only 185 tons of opium per year under the Taliban, according to the UN statistics, since the US-led invasion, drug production has surged to 3,400 tons annually. In 2007, the opium trade reached an estimated all-time production high of 8,200 tons.

Afghan and western officials blame Washington and NATO for the change, saying that allies have “overlooked” the drug problem since invading the country 10 years ago.