Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan agree drug fight plan

VIENNA, Jun 12 (Reuters) Senior Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani officials agreed today a joint crackdown on drug trafficking along their borders, according to the U N Office on Drugs and Crime which hosted their talks.

In a joint statement conveyed by the Vienna-based UNODC, security ministers from the three countries voiced determination to reduce the threat posed by Afghan opium, calling it a ''transnational threat that requires a cooperative solution''.

Opium production in Afghanistan rose by as much as 50 percent last year to supply more than 90 per cent of global heroin, according to a United Nations estimate.

UNODC director Antonio Maria Costa hailed the deal as a turning point in combating Afghanistan's opium scourge.

''(This is) a strong political signal of their desire to work together to fight a common problem. This increases the chances of containing the problem at its epicentre,'' he said.

The three nations agreed to construct more physical barriers along their borders, boost law enforcement capacity, launch joint counter-narcotic sweeps and increase intelligence-sharing about trafficking routes, traffickers and suspicious shipments.

They also agreed to stem the diversion and smuggling of precursor chemicals used to make drugs, locate and destroy drug labs, do more to tackle corruption fuelling the drug business and halt laundering of drug money.

They also urged countries where opiates are consumed -- particularly the European Union and Russia -- to curb demand that is fuelling the opium trade.

The three states further agreed to hold policy-level coordination meetings at least every six months, UNODC said.

Germany had said in late May that G8 industrial nations were concerned about the rise of opium production in Afghanistan and wanted to enlist Iran and other neighbouring countries to crush trafficking of the drug.

Iran shares a 900-km (560-mile) border with Afghanistan, the world's number one producer of the opium poppy which is the key ingredient for heroin.

The scale of heroin and other drug abuse in Iran, which straddles a major smuggling route, is a growing problem -- and one which the conservative Islamic state shares with the United States and its other Western foes.

REUTERS GT HT2332