The Azerbaijani State Border Service continues to intercept drug smuggling attempts from Iran, as smugglers shift their methods and make increasing use of drones. In March alone the State Border Service intercepted two attempts to smuggle drugs from Iran via unmanned ariel vehicles. In September 2024, in a joint operation Azerbaijan’s State Border Service and  State Security Service intercepted a dron carrying over 19kg of drugs from the Islamic Republic. After crossing the state border from the Iranian side, the drones drop their parcels in predetermined locations. Members of the drug smuggling gangs, including Iranian nationals, have been arrested in Azerbaijan while trying to pick up the contraband.

In its latest annual report, the Border Service said that over 2.6 tonnes of narcotics had been seized in 2024

Attempts to smuggle drugs from Iran into Azerbaijan via drones increased in 2024, according to the Azerbaijani State Border Service. In its latest annual report, the Border Service said that over 2.6 tonnes of narcotics had been seized in 2024. Iranian gangs most often try to smuggle marijuana, M-40 methadone pills, methamphetamines, heroin and other psychotropic substances.

Iranian nationals are also frequently caught at Azerbaijani border customs points trying to smuggle heroin in personal vehicles and trucks. In addition, the Iranian drug cartels also use the Caspian Sea to smuggle narcotics into Azerbaijan. In February this year, two Iranian nationals were caught near Azerbaijan’s coast trafficking over 11 kilograms of marijuana, 1.5 kilograms of heroin, and 4,400 methadone pills. Their boat, equipped with a special Yamaha engine, was also seized following their arrest. In an incident in June 2024 Azerbaijan’s Coast Guard Units intercepted a boat at sea and seized a large amount of narcotics being smuggled into the country from Iran.

The smugglers often use violence against the Azerbaijani law-enforcers, and both Iranian smugglers and Azerbaijani border guards have been killed in fatal shoot-outs.

Syria became the Middle East’s major producer and exporter of an addictive synthetic drug Captagon, with pro-Iranian militias and Hezbollah playing a key role in the drug’s distribution

It’s well known that Iran uses drug smuggling to generate massive black market income, and often the IRGC is suspected of running and controlling the drug trafficking trade. According to Proffessor Ehteshami of Durham University, IRGC officials are certainly involved in the smuggling and distribution of opium from Afghanistan as huge rents are collected from such activities. Iran’s role in drug smuggling and trafficking was widely analysed in the Syrian context during Assad’s rule. Syria became the Middle East’s major producer and exporter of an addictive synthetic drug Captagon, with pro-Iranian militias and Hezbollah playing a key role in the drug’s distribution.

Drug trafficking (heroin, opium, and methamphetamines) and the distribution of narcotics both inside and outside the country constitute a significant portion of Iran’s shadow economy. The UN office on Drugs and Crime reports that around 40 oer cent of drugs seized in Iran remain in the country. Considering that Iran has been subject to international sanctions over the years, smuggling has become a significant and lucrative element in Tehran’s economy. Revenue from smuggling enables Tehran to finance its proxy groups in the region as well as its subversive activities against neighbouring countries.

Iranian drug kingpin Naji Sharifi Zindashti is believed to be involved in the abduction of the Iranian-Arab dissident Habib Chaab  from Türkiye in 2020

Moreover, these types of activities enable the IRGC Qods force to forge deep “partnerships’ with international criminal syndicates, which often result in covert actions against Iranian dissidents abroad and Iran’s adversaries in neighbouring countries. For example, Iranian drug kingpin Naji Sharifi Zindashti is believed to be involved in the abduction of the Iranian-Arab dissident Habib Chaab  from Türkiye in 2020. Zindasti is also accused of hiring Canadian hitmen to assassinate an Iranian defector to the USA, and was subjected to sanctions by the UK in 2024.

Azerbaijan’s location on major drug trafficking routes from Afghanistan and Iran to Europe and Russia makes drug smuggling one of the country’s major security challenges. By flooding Azerbaijan with drugs the Iranian regime is pursuing a silent war against its neighbour. In 2021, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan accused Iran of using the 132km-long section of the border with Azerbaijan that was previously occupied by Armenia to export drugs into Europe. It was also alleged that one of the reasons for Iran’s displeasure at Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Karabakh War was that Baku had retaken control of the border and was now blocking the IRGC drug-trafficking route.

Flooding Azerbaijan with drugs and the extremist ideology of Khomeinism simultaneously are clearly twin vectors in the hybrid warfare pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran

While using the drugs trade to generate revenue, the IRGC also uses the drug cartels for other subversive activities including reconnaissance and spying. This could be seen in April 2023, when Azerbaijan arrested dozens of individuals accused of working for Iranian intelligence services in promoting Iranian propaganda inside Azerbaijan and engaging in drug trafficking.

Flooding Azerbaijan with drugs and the extremist ideology of Khomeinism simultaneously are clearly twin vectors in the hybrid warfare pursued by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.