While international attention has primarily focused on the vast region’s declining opium production, advanced criminal drug trafficking networks have successfully shifted toward manufacturing and exporting synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine, commonly known as meth.

The evidence

Iranian seizures of meth increased from 30,393 kilos in 2022 to 40,453 kilos in 2025.

Seizing the often-fatal drugs wasn’t easy. Authorities conducted five intelligence-led operations targeting massive meth shipments from Afghanistan, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported from Tehran on Thursday.

The shipments were headed by land across the Afghanistan-West Asia corridor, where the illicit drugs typically travel through Türkiye en route to Europe.

“The clear signal from Tehran is that these substantial shipments are being intercepted before they can reach international markets,” UNODC’s Iran office wrote. “Yet, sustained success will require enhanced international cooperation and support.”

Dangers of meth

Meth is an extremely dangerous, highly addictive stimulant typically manufactured in covert laboratories. Overdosing on it can lead to seizures and death, while long-term use can lead to malnutrition and psychological dependence on the drug, UNODC says.

In the US, for example, about 96,000 overdose deaths between January 2021 and June 2024 involved meth, according to data from the country’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Consequently, UNODC said that disrupting shipments of meth represents lives saved across Europe and the Middle East and cuts off the illicit financial flows that fund organised crime.

Meanwhile, nearby countries such as Syria continue to seize thousands of tablets of Captagon, an illicit synthetic drug that is taken as a pill and is most prevalent in the Middle East.

The drug was a key source of currency for the toppled Assad regime but large-scale production has been disrupted under the new Government in Damascus.

UN aiding interceptions

Criminal networks are quickly adapting, using sophisticated concealment methods to move multi-tonne meth shipments, UNODC said.

But the UN’s crime fighting agency has moved quickly, too.

UNODC has helped Iran procure advanced detection scanners to stop meth at the border. It has also worked to strengthen the country’s forensic capabilities in identifying new, potentially dangerous synthetic compounds.

Sustained donor investment is critical to prevent the corridor from becoming a major drug smuggling route, but the effort also requires “a collective and sustainable approach by the international community,” according to the drugs and crime agency, which is headquartered in Vienna.

“By supporting UNODC’s work in Iran, donor nations are investing in regional stability and international security, while also protecting their own borders from the flow of illicit substances,” the agency said.