Extacies' Raw Materials Enter Iran From Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan Borders: Najjar

Tehran, Dec 19, IRNA – Minister of the Intrior Mostafa Mohammad Najjar voiced concern on Tuesday over entry of extacies' raw materials to Iran from the Iraqi, Turkish and Pakistani borders. Addressing the Sixth Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan Tripartite Ministerial Meeting (Tripartite Initiative) in Tehran, he said that intensive measures have been taken to stop entry of the drugs and identifying the laboratories producing extacies. He told IRNA that the ministers agreed to make further use of their respective countries' capacities to boost control over the land and sea borders. Joint operations, the ways to seriously counter drugs mafia, leveling off poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and replacing it with other crops were the topics discussed during the meeting, the interior minister said. Responding to a question why serious measures are not taken to combat drug trafficking, the Afghan Minister of Counter-Narcotics Ahmed Moqbel Zarar said that it is hard, but various steps have been taken to reduce production of drugs. Reducing poppy cultivation is hard because the Taleban earn $five million a year from that, he said. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Deputy Minister of Narcotics Control Javid Iqbal said that Pakistan as a transit country for drugs has fallen victim so far. Representatives of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to set up barriers on Iran-Pakistan 2,000-kilometer joint border and the two countries' duties regarding drug campaign. The two-day meeting of representatives of Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan was held to intensify fight against narcotic drugs and terrorists. The first day of the meeting which is to make use of the opportunities to accelerate fights against narcotic drugs, was held at the level of anti-drug experts in which the United Nations deputy secretary general participated./end