ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian interior ministry announced on Wednesday that security forces in Damascus countryside province seized weapons, ammunition, and 600,000 Captagon pills intended for smuggling into Iraq.
“The Criminal Security Branch in Damascus was able to thwart an attempt to smuggle narcotics into Iraq and seize 600,000 Captagon pills hidden inside a vehicle,” the ministry stated in a Facebook post, adding that they confiscated weapons, ammunition, and three vehicles with forged license plates and secret compartments.
The announcement detailed that a suspect apprehended in connection with the narcotics “admitted to smuggling narcotics to Iraq.”
Iraqi authorities in March said they seized three million pills of Captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant that has been sweeping the Middle East for years.
In May, the interior ministries of Iraq and Syria signed a security agreement covering several areas, including border control and combating drugs.
Iraq shares a long border with Syria, spanning over 600 kilometers. Only part of it is controlled by the government in Damascus. The northern portion is held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Iraq has built a concrete wall along stretches of the border to prevent smuggling and the movement of armed groups, including the Islamic State (ISIS), which seized control of vast swathes of Syrian and Iraqi land in 2014. The extremist group facilitated the movement of fighters, captives, and weapons between the two countries.
The smuggling of narcotics across the border is a growing problem. The interior ministers of Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon met in Amman in February and announced they would cooperate to combat narcotics and the spread of illegal substances.
