The rapid development and widespread availability of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has opened new opportunities for drug cartels. In recent years, the global practice of using drones for drug trafficking, particularly across borders, has grown significantly.
Previously, this method was actively used by Mexican cartels to smuggle drugs into the United States. The “kings” of Afghanistan’s drug trade regularly use drones to deliver heroin into Iran. And now, their Iranian “colleagues” are increasingly adopting the same method.
As a result, there has been a sharp increase in cases of drug deliveries by drone from Iran to Azerbaijan in recent times.
The State Security Service of Azerbaijan (SSS), the State Border Service (SBS), and the Ministry of Internal Affairs regularly publish official statements about such incidents. Border guards frequently intercept quadcopters carrying dozens of kilograms of drugs. In some cases, they even manage to detain the individuals meant to collect the “cargo.”
According to the latest report from the State Border Service, another attempt to smuggle drugs from Iran to Azerbaijan via drone was recorded on March 21. On that day, patrol units of the Lankaran border detachment detected UAV sounds near the border, followed by the sighting of two unidentified individuals in a vehicle in the border zone. They turned out to be Ilgar Nukhbala oglu Gurbanov (born 2000) and Neymat Mollaga oglu Mageramov (born 1985), residents of the Saray settlement in the Absheron district. Upon inspecting their vehicle, 6.354 kilograms of marijuana were discovered and confiscated. During interrogation, the detainees admitted that their task was to collect drugs dropped by a drone launched from Iran.
Investigative and operational procedures are ongoing regarding this incident.
Earlier in March, a small quadcopter flying from Iran was intercepted in the territory of the Goytepe border detachment in the Jalilabad district. Azerbaijani border guards retrieved half a kilogram of heroin from it.
And in the fall of last year, a joint operation by the SSS and SBS prevented the transport of several dozen kilograms of drugs from Iran using drones.
An official SBS report noted that during surveillance in the area of the Horadiz border detachment, an unidentified drone flying toward Azerbaijan was detected. Using special equipment, border guards shot down the UAV and found approximately 20 kilograms of drugs and 1,500 methadone tablets onboard.
In Lankaran, police discovered a drone with a 10-kilogram package of drugs attached. It is believed that local drug couriers were awaiting the delivery.
Previously, drugs from Iran to Azerbaijan were primarily smuggled by couriers crossing the border either legally or illegally. However, over the past five years, Azerbaijan’s land borders—including those with Iran—have been closed, making traditional smuggling routes unusable.
Nevertheless, traffickers still attempt to transport drugs via trucks crossing the border. Border and customs officials routinely discover such “cargo” in transit lorries from Iran.
Another method used by smugglers involved illegal courier crossings. These couriers would cross into Azerbaijan using hidden paths, hide drugs in prearranged locations, send the coordinates to local accomplices, and then return to Iran.
To combat this phenomenon, Azerbaijani border guards have conducted multiple operations, sometimes resulting in armed clashes with violators. Both Iranian drug couriers and Azerbaijani border guards have been casualties of these shootouts.
However, as drone usage has become more widespread, Iranian drug cartels have begun favoring this method of smuggling, since the risk is limited to losing the “package” in case of detection—not their people, who might otherwise disclose information under interrogation about other members or even leaders of the drug network.
Farhad Mammadov
Translated from haqqin.az
