Information obtained by Iran International shows how Naji Sharifi-Zindashti and his cartel now dominate the narcotics trade thanks to the support of the government militia.
His extraordinary rise comes despite his having killed a prison guard in Iran and fleeing abroad, only to return with impunity.
Investigative reporter Mojtaba Pourmohsen has uncovered how a recent rise in the number of executions of convicts sentenced to death on drug-related charges is the result of infighting between rival drug cartels with connections within the ranks of the IRGC.
Emerging triumphant from this criminal war, Sharifi-Zindashti and his accomplices – dubbed “The Friends’ Club” – have used the IRGC’s vast reach and control over transit routes and logistics to gain the upper hand in Iran's drug market, according to sources.
The Club comprises senior IRGC officials and high-ranking members of Iran's Supreme National Security Council as well as managers from Tehran Municipality and members of parliament. Sharifi-Zindashti not only pays bribes but also supplies opium and heroin for the personal consumption of many of these senior officials.
According to the sources, Sharifi-Zindashti's gangs traffic more than 20 percent of drugs distributed across Iran and about 35 percent of the drugs pushed in the capital Tehran. The narcotics that are confiscated and destroyed as part of the Islamic Republic's regular war on drugs mostly belong to rival gangs.
Interesting update, seems like a good standalone topic.
bump