Prisoners report organized drug trafficking network in Iran's jails

A group of prisoners in Iran alleged that a coordinated network trafficking narcotics and other illicit goods has operated for years across multiple detention facilities, according to a report they released on Sunday.

“The identity of the godfather and the members of his network is now clear,” the prisoners of Ghezel Hesar facility in Karaj wrote in a report. “There is no room left for denial or claims of ignorance.”

They called on judicial authorities and the Prisons Organization to act “immediately and transparently” to protect inmates and halt the network’s activities.

Network tied to senior prison official

Esmail Farajnejad, Ghezel Hesar prison’s deputy for health affairs, according to the report.

The prisoners said his involvement dates back to his time at Rajaei Shahr prison, where they said he and several associates helped distribute narcotics and other illicit goods.

Farajnejad was later reassigned to Ghezel Hesar, but the prisoners said his reach endured with backing from a senior official they identified only as “Mr. Baay,” who subsequently rose to a powerful internal security role.

The inmates said the network reaped “significant financial gain” from drug trafficking and from securing internal appointments that kept its members in key roles.

Farajnejad, they alleged, maintained control through threats and intimidation during his tenure.

Ghezel Hesar, one of Iran’s largest and most feared prisons, recorded 183 executions in the last year, the rights group HRANA reported in October.

Role in suppressing recent strike

The prisoners said Farajnejad played a direct role in ending a strike in Ward 2 mid-October, after 15 inmates on death row were moved to pre-execution cells.

They alleged he initially relayed sympathetic messages through prisoners close to him, but hardened his stance as the protest spread.

“He called the prisoners stubborn and uncomprehending,” they wrote, quoting him as warning that executions would go ahead “in groups of thirty” if the strike continued. The inmates said protesters then escalated by sewing their lips shut.