Captagon

Drug dealer sentenced to life imprisonment by Anbar court

ANBAR — The Anbar Criminal Court sentenced a drug dealer to life imprisonment Monday after he was found in possession of 40,000 Captagon pills, authorities reported.

A statement from the Judiciary’s media office read, “The convicted individual was apprehended with 40,000 Captagon pills intended for trafficking and distribution among users.”

Iraq has experienced a significant rise in Captagon trafficking in recent years, positioning the country as a key transit hub in the illicit drug trade. Between 2019 and 2023, Captagon seizures in Iraq skyrocketed by over 3,380%, with authorities confiscating more than 4.1 tons of the drug in 2023 alone.

On Christmas Day, the General Directorate for Narcotics Affairs under Iraq’s Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of a suspected drug trafficker in Najaf, along with the seizure of 100,000 Captagon pills. The operation was the result of a month-long intelligence investigation.

Captagon trafficking primarily originated from Syria, but following the fall of the Assad regime, there has been a noticeable decline in smuggling activities along the Syrian-Iraqi border. Despite this, Captagon remains a prevalent issue. Haider Al-Quraishi, a member of Iraq’s National Anti-Drug Team under the National Security Advisory Office, stated, “Captagon smuggled from Syria accounts for nearly 90% of the narcotics circulating in Iraq.”

The Iraqi penal code is outdated

The Iraqi penal code is outdated

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