Showing posts with label drink and drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drink and drugs. Show all posts
Friday, March 27, 2009
BBC: As Iran celebrates their New Year festival, Nowrouz, some Iranians turn increasingly to drugs and liquor to get them in the party mood.
Nowrouz lasts for two weeks and many people travel to the lush jungles and seaside villas of northern Iran to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.
But where ever they go imported and home produced alcohol, from vodka to Saki, are imbibed along with kebabs.
During the month building up to Nowrouz police statistics show that on average more than 25,000 cans of alcoholic drinks and some 135,000 litres of home-made liquor are hauled across Iran. This is despite the country-wide ban on alcohol imposed under Sharia law.
And, of course, strong homemade alcohol can be particularly dangerous. The AFP news agency recently reported police saying that 10 people had died from drinking poisonous homemade alcohol in a northern Iranian province.
Smuggling
But most of the domestic thirst for spirits is quenched with booze smuggled from Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey.
It is transferred to Kurdish towns such as Erbil in northern Iraq and then carried over the border into Iran.
Once over the border, the final price varies according to how easy it was to negotiate the treacherous terrain of western Iran while avoiding police patrols.
In total, some 14 million litres of liquor are distributed in Iran each year, according to the special anti-smuggling task force which is supervised by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
This is despite the severe punishment for those caught committing offences related to alcohol.
An Iranian convicted of drinking on three separate occasions could face death by hanging. There is little chance of a pardon. Turning to drugs >>> By Faraj Balafkan, BBC Persian Service | Friday, March 27, 2009
Watch YouTube video (Journeyman Pictures): Alcohol smuggling – Iran: June 2007 Fine wines. French cognacs. Scottish whiskies. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, all alcoholic tastes are catered for. We join the Kurdish smugglers keeping Iran's drinkers well lubricated. >>> | June 2007
YOUTUBE: Drug Use in Iran
YOUTUBE: Islamic Heroin Republic!
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