Continued Drug Trafficking from Afghanistan to International Markets

The annual report of the "International Narcotics Control Board" indicates that despite a significant increase in annual opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in recent years, particularly between 2015 and 2017, the supply of heroin from Afghanistan to markets in Europe and beyond appears to have remained stable. According to the "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime," this may be due to traffickers' efforts to keep the supply straightforward or perhaps heroin is produced from opium harvested differently. In 2017 and early 2018, Turkey reported an increase in the use of trucks with Iranian license plates arriving from Iran to smuggle significant amounts of heroin into Turkey en route to European markets. The report by the International Narcotics Control Board states that despite a 20% decrease in opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2018, it remains high. This decrease is mainly attributed to drought in the country and a drop in the initial rate of dry opium. The potential production of opium also saw nearly a 30% decrease, estimated at about 6,400 tons in 2018 compared to 9,000 tons in 2017. According to the International Narcotics Control Board, the route described as the "Balkan route," which passes through Iran, Turkey, and the Balkan countries towards markets in Western and Central Europe, remains the main route for drug trafficking from Afghanistan. Countries along the Balkan route account for about 37% of international heroin seizures. The report adds that simultaneously in 2017, Afghan drugs continued to be trafficked through a subsidiary branch of the Balkan route, passing through Iran to the Southern Caucasus countries and then onward to Ukraine via the Black Sea into Eastern Europe. The report states that in 2017 and early 2018, Turkey reported an increase in the use of trucks with Iranian license plates arriving from Iran to smuggle significant amounts of heroin into Turkey en route to European markets. Additionally, Turkey has concluded from its analyses that the destination of the opium seized in its territory is the illegal markets in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The report adds that some of the heroin seized in Europe passed through Pakistan and was directly trafficked from that country to Europe by air or sea; simultaneously, drugs are trafficked from Pakistan to Iran for European markets along the Balkan route. The annual report of the International Narcotics Control Board notes that the majority of morphine and heroin seized in Iran has entered from Pakistan. The report also mentions that Pakistan seized over 24 tons of heroin in 2017 compared to 23 tons in 2016, and the seizures of opium and heroin in Iran saw a slight increase in 2017 compared to 2016. The International Narcotics Control Board is an independent quasi-judicial body for enforcing United Nations conventions on drug control, playing a significant role in monitoring drug restrictions.