May 3, 2022- 10:05 p.m.
Iraq seizes more than six million Captagon pills in drug bust.
Iraqi security forces said Saturday they had broken up a drug trafficking ring and seized more than six million pills of the amphetamine-type stimulant Captagon, making several arrests.
Iraq’s northwestern neighbor Syria is the Middle East’s main Captagon producer.
Iraqi forces seized “around 6.2 million pills” from a warehouse in the southwest of the capital, the national security agency said in a statement, adding that the drugs were set for distribution “in areas of Baghdad and other provinces.”
Three Iraqis and four suspects from other Arab countries were arrested in connection with the trafficking network, it added.
The statement said security forces broke up a second drug ring after an Arab national was arrested “in possession of six kilograms [13 pounds] of hashish,” while two accomplices were also detained.
All 10 accused “admitted to links with international drug trafficking networks,” it said.
Drug trafficking convictions can be punishable by the death penalty in Iraq.
Trade in Captagon in the Middle East grew exponentially in 2021 to top $5 billion, posing an increasing health and security risk to the region, a report said earlier this month.
