ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Authorities in the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province on Tuesday confiscated a large cache of smuggled medicine stored in a warehouse operating inside a pharmacy, according to the Kurdistan Region’s Medical Control Agency (KMCA).
The raid was conducted by health committees in coordination with the Region’s Pharmacists’ Syndicate, as part of ongoing efforts to combat the growing trade in illegal pharmaceuticals, the KMCA reported.
Ahmad Kasnazani, a member of the syndicate, told Rudaw that “medications for chronic conditions are often smuggled into Kurdistan due to limited availability of certain brands and high public demand.”
Kasnazani noted that pharmacies found selling smuggled drugs face a range of penalties, from official warnings to permanent closure.
He warned that the unregulated medicines - often lacking official stamps - are brought in through improper and illegal channels and may be exposed to high temperatures, lack active ingredients, and bypass quality control, making them potentially harmful and impossible to trace in the event of adverse reactions.
The smuggling of medicine remains a persistent issue in the Kurdistan Region, where supply shortages and enforcement gaps have allowed illegal imports to enter the market. In response, officials have been stepping up inspections in recent years, targeting pharmacies and warehouses suspected of distributing unauthorized drugs.
