Azerbaijan thwarts smuggling of 31 kg of drugs from Iran

Azerbaijan has prevented an attempt to smuggle 31 kg of drugs from Iran into the country.

At 23:20 on June 6, the smuggling attempt was foiled in the service territory of the border outpost near the Ordubad district’s Kotam village, Caliber.Az reports, citing the State Border Service.

Nakhchivan’s border division of the State Border Service border troops carried out the operation.

Operational and investigative measures into the case are underway.

As a transit point at the intersection of Europe and Asia, the territory of Azerbaijan has become a part of routes for transnational drug traffickers.

After liberating its lands from Armenia's occupation in a 44-day war with Armenia in 2020, Azerbaijan restored control over the 132-km section of the Azerbaijan-Iran border.

Considering that drug abuse and illicit drug trafficking involve more than one country along the supply chain, the need for bilateral and multilateral cooperation among the countries involved in the trafficking process is of utmost necessity.

Azerbaijan is a Party to the international drug control conventions, namely the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and the UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988.

Besides three UN conventions, Azerbaijan is a Party to the Partial Agreement establishing the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe on cooperation to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking in drugs (resolutions 80 (02) and 80 (15) of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe).

Cooperation agreements have been signed with the relevant agencies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Egypt, Gulf States, CIS member states and other countries.