ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq on Sunday announced the seizure of some 1.1 tons of Captagon, flowing in from Syria, with the help of the Kurdistan Region and Saudi Arabia. The capture is part of an ongoing counter-narcotics effort that saw Baghdad seize some 2.86 tons of illicit substances since the beginning of 2025. The Iraqi interior ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri stated that Baghdad’s narcotics control directorate, “based on [intelligence] information it received from the Saudi [General Directorate of] Narcotics Control” and in cooperation with the narcotics control directorates of Erbil and Sulaimani, was able to carry out a “precise and specialized operation” that led to the seizure of a truck laden with some 1,100 kilograms of Captagon pills coming from Syria towards Iraq, through Turkey. Miri added that the perpetrators involved in the smuggling were arrested and their network was dismantled in an operation that “was carried out under high confidentiality monitoring and pursuit.” In early March, Iraq’s narcotics control directorate reported that Baghdad has seized some 1.75 tons of illicit substances since the beginning of 2025 and made 2,000 arrests in the process. Three months prior, in December, the narcotics directorate revealed that a total of six tons and 183 kilograms of illicit drugs were seized in 2024, with 14,483 suspects arrested. Among these, 144 individuals have been sentenced to death for international drug smuggling, while 454 local dealers were sentenced to life in prison - a term of 20 years. Speaking to Rudaw in late February, the head of Iraq’s Security Media Cell Major General Saad Maan stated that drug trafficking is “the most widespread crime” in Iraq, highlighting that Erbil and Baghdad are working jointly and with regional neighbours to address the issue. Maan also said that “drugs are almost exclusively imported” into Iraq and that there have been “failed attempts” to manufacture Crystal and Captagon - the most commonly used types of psychotropic substances - within the country. Of note, Crystal is often referent to Crystal meth; however, it could also refer to other crystalline forms of drugs including MDMA and uncut cocaine. The drug trade, especially Captagon, is a growing concern in the Middle East, including Iraq. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted the escalating drug crisis in its 2024 report, revealing a staggering 3,380 percent increase in Captagon seizures in Iraq from 2019 to 2023. In 2023 alone, over 4.1 tons of Captagon tablets were seized, the report noted, adding that the drugs trafficked in Iraq also include opium, heroin, hashish, and methamphetamine. UNODC cautioned that Iraq “is at risk of becoming a key node in the drug trafficking ecosystem spanning Southwest Asia, Africa, and Europe.” It connects trafficking routes carrying opiates from Afghanistan to Europe, and routes through the Arabian Peninsula to Eastern Africa. The UN organization further noted that drug trafficking is exacerbated by Iraqi armed groups whose “cross-border ties and economic interests contribute to cross-border trafficking,” adding that the country’s “recent history of armed conflict and corruption has worsened trafficking conditions.” Syria, under fallen dictator Bashar al-Assad, was a major source for the Captagon trade. The drug was one of the power cards used by the Assad regime for political leverage and his brother Maher is believed to have been largely behind the illegal business. With the collapse of his rule, observers have urged the international community to make ending the Captagon trade among the prerequisites for providing relief to the new Syria leadership. For its part, the Iraqi government has said it will continue to fight the drug trade with the same determination that it combats terrorism.
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