Iraq says joint raid in Syria foiled bid to smuggle 57 kg of hashish

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Interior Ministry said it arrested two alleged drug traffickers inside Syria in coordination with Damascus, seizing 57 kilograms of hashish that were allegedly being prepared for smuggling into Iraq.

In a statement, the ministry said its units are continuing efforts to combat narcotics and dismantle criminal networks. It said Iraqi intelligence teams, acting on “accurate intelligence information,” coordinated with Syria’s Drug Control Directorate before deploying a unit from Iraq’s General Directorate for Narcotics Affairs into Syrian territory.

The joint operation led to the arrest of “two international drug traffickers” carrying 57 kilograms of hashish they “planned to bring into Iraqi territory,” the ministry said. It described the raid as an example of regional security cooperation and “a clear expression of mutual trust” between the two countries’ security agencies.

The Interior Ministry thanked Syria’s Drug Control Directorate for its cooperation and said Iraq will continue targeting international trafficking networks and “drying up the sources of narcotics” to protect the public.

The operation comes after the ministry announced on Nov. 25 that Iraqi forces had dismantled more than 1,200 local and international drug-trafficking networks over the past three years, seizing more than 14 tons of narcotics. Ministry spokesperson Col. Abbas al-Bahadli said Iraq has carried out 40 operations outside the country and now maintains 33 liaison points with regional and international partners, calling Iraq “the regional leader” in drug-control efforts.

Al-Bahadli said courts issued rulings against more than 23,000 defendants during that period, while the Interior Ministry expanded its work to include rehabilitation programs. Iraq now operates 16 rehabilitation centers across 16 governorates, with more than 6,000 people completing treatment and reintegration programs, he said.