Azerbaijan, Baku, April 22 /Trend News, T.Jafarov/

The Islamic Republic of Iran worries about drug smuggling via its borders to Azerbaijan.

"Several thousand of our policemen died in this issue. Naturally, although we try hard to prevent it, such facts still exist. It means that there are facts of drug smuggling to neighbor countries. Azerbaijan is one of such countries and we worry a lot about it," Iranian Deputy Police Chief General Ahmed Reza Radan told Trend News in Baku on April 22.

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.

The general said Iran has taken several measures to prevent drug traffic to neighbor countries via its borders.

"The Iranian and Azerbaijani frontier guards are holding fruitful meetings, but not diplomatic. The Iranian frontier guards will meet with their Azerbaijani counterparts on April 23," Radan added.

Radan said all countries hail Iran's work done to combat narcotics.

"Iran's struggle against combat is a unique action. Iran stands as a barrier before narcotics. Unfortunately, although some countries support us in this issue orally, they are not so active on their action," the general said.

Radan said they began to struggle against this problem to prevent the Iranian youth and other neighbor countries' youth addiction to narcotics.