Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran continue to produce opium poppies at increasing rates, supplying heroin users in Western Europe and the United States Opiate refining laboratories, for the most part, operate in remote areas beyond the reach of law enforcement agencies. Most of the laboratories are mobile and can easily be transported to a new location. Although Turkey has successfully eliminated illicit opium poppy cultivation and the diversion of licit opiates, it has become a major processing and distribution center for heroin originating in Southwest Asia. Because both large and small drug trafficking organizations operate efficiently in delivering opiates on a local and international scale, there is no typical profile of a Southwest Asian drug trafficker. Traffickers take advantage of modern transportation systems, moving heroin by road, sea, and air to all parts of the world. Drug interdiction programs are largely dependent upon government and individual interests, and have been ineffectual in stopping the flow of drugs out of the region. 15 figures and 3 appendixes