Azerbaijan, Baku, April 23 / Trend , T.Jafarov/
Protection of the Iranian-Azerbaijani borders will be strengthened.
The Iranian delegation led by Commander of Iran's Border Police Major-General Qasem Rezaei will visit Azerbaijan on April 23 to discuss protection of the two countries' borders, Iranian Police Deputy Chief General Ahmed Reza Radan told Trend in Baku on April 23.
The meeting with the State Border Service management will focus on issues to prevent narcotics smuggling on the Azerbaijani-Iranian borders, he said.
In 2008 the U.S. Department of State reported that number of drugs users and narcotics growing was increased in Azerbaijan in 2007-2008.
The report described narcotic transit directions from Azerbaijan - Central Asia-Caspian Sea or Iran. Another route passes from Iran to the Azerbaijani occupied Nagorno-Karabakh territory. The report says that narcotics are transported from Azerbaijan to Russia and then Eastern and Central Asia. As Turkey borders with Iran, it is also included in the route passing via Azerbaijan.
Moreover, the report says that narcotraders collided with law enforcement officers. For instance, such a conflict on the Iranian border killed one narcotrader and injured four on June 3 in 2008. Officers found two night observation devices and submachine gun of U.S. production on the narco-gang.
The law enforcement agencies seized over 651 kilograms of narcotics in 2008, 1.9 times more than the 2007 figure and smuggling of 159 kilograms of drugs (a-rise of 1.1 times) was prevented.
About 2,271 individuals were held accountable for narcotics related crimes. About 2,085 of them are unemployed (91.8 percent), 530 (23.4 percent) earlier convicted individuals, 57 (2.5 percent) women and 5 (0.2) underage people.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at [email protected]