One million Captagon pills seized in Baghdad

Iraqi security forces announced on Monday the seizure of approximately one million Captagon pills in the possession of a "foreign drug dealer" in Baghdad, in a country where the drug problem poses a significant challenge to the authorities.

According to a statement issued by the Iraqi National Security Agency, their forces were able to "set up a well-planned ambush that led to the capture of a foreign national drug dealer," without specifying his nationality.

The statement added that the forces found large quantities of Captagon pills, estimated at around one million, concealed in a truck in a secretive manner.

It was further explained that the dealer intended to transport these quantities to the northern part of the country.

The authorities also confiscated "significant amounts of cash in both Iraqi and foreign currencies" from the dealer.

Iraq, with its borders with Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, serves as a transit route for smuggling these pills, especially drugs in general. However, in recent years, drug abuse has significantly increased in the country.

The Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, are the main destination for Captagon pills, primarily smuggled from Syria and the border area with Lebanon. Smuggling these drugs has turned into a profitable trade valued at more than ten billion dollars, as estimated by experts.

On July 16, the Iraqi authorities announced the seizure of a Captagon manufacturing plant in the south of the country, a precedent in a nation that has become a transit route for these addictive pills in recent years.

Captagon pills are easily manufactured drugs and are classified by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as a type of "stimulant amphetamines," typically a mixture of amphetamines, caffeine, and other substances.

In addition to its border areas with its western neighbor, Syria, the southern regions of Iraq adjacent to its eastern neighbor, Iran, are also a significant route for drug trafficking, particularly crystal methamphetamine.



AFP