The baby tiger can be bought on the black market in Iran for $3,200.

Source:  AP, “Baby tiger found stuffed in bag at Thai airport,” Washington Post, August 28, 2010.

According to press reports, there were at least 270 people who were hanged to death in Iran for drug trafficking in 2009.

Source:  AFP, “Iran hangs rapist, three drug traffickers: reports,” Google News, July 31, 2010.

In 2008, 24.3 metric tons of amphetamines were seized around the world, with 15.3 metric tons seized in the Middle East. 12.8 metric tons of amphetamines were seized in Saudi Arabia alone in 2008.

Source:  Mark Tutton, “Does Saudi have world’s biggest amphetamine habit?,” CNN, July 23, 2010.

The market in smuggled goods in Iran is estimated to be valued at $12 Billion a year.

Source:  Babak Dehghanpisheh, “Smugglers for the State,” Newsweek, July 10, 2010.

In 2008, authorities in Lebanon seized 400 ecstasy tablets.

In 2009, 17,312 ecstasy tablets were seized.

Source: AFP, “Ecstasy a growing rave in Lebanon drug market,” Google News, July 1, 2010.

Out of a population of 4 million, there are an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 drug addicts in Lebanon. Most of the addicts are between the ages of 15 to 25.

Source:  AFP, “Ecstasy a growing rave in Lebanon drug market,” Google News, July 1, 2010.

140 tons of heroin from Afghanistan enters Iran each year.

Source:  UNODC, “The Globalization of Crime,” Chapter 5: Heroin, June 2010.

Drug traffickers in Iran earn between $450 Million to $600 Million a year from trafficking heroin.

Source:  UNODC, “The Globalization of Crime,” Chapter 5: Heroin, June 2010.

An estimated 20,000 people were working in the smuggling tunnels of Gaza in June 2010.

Source:  Associated Press, “Ordinary Gazans hurt most by 3-year blockade,” Google News, June 11, 2010.

Due to its close proximity to Afghanistan, 85 percent of the world’s total opium seizures takes place within Iran.

Source: “Iran Seizes Several Tons of Illicit Drugs at Eastern Borders,” Fars News Agency, May 23, 2010.