Crime in Iran is present in various forms, and may include the following offences: murder, kidnapping, theft, fraud, money laundering, drug trafficking, drug selling, alcohol smuggling, oil smuggling, tax evasion and many other ordinary crimes that criminals commit.Drug trafficking is a major and ongoing issue in Iran. Iran is a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe. It shares a 975-kilometer (606 mi) common border with Afghanistan-the world's largest opium producer-which provides a short land route for drug transit between Afghanistan and Europe. With 2.8 percent of the population addicted to drugs, Iran has the high rate of drug addiction, that rivals the 10 - 15% in Afghanistan.40% of prisoners in Iran have been convicted on drug related charges. According to published figures, Iran has so far lost close to 3,500 police and security officers to the anti-drug campaign that annually costs the country almost $1 billion and inflicts an annual damage of about $8.5 billion on Iran's economy. Hundreds of drug smugglers have also been hanged.
