Anbar: authorities intercept 18 kilograms of drugs smuggled via balloon

ANBAR — Iraq’s Border Forces Command said Wednesday it foiled an attempt to smuggle narcotics using a balloon in western Anbar, seizing tens of thousands of pills near the border.

In a statement, the command said the operation was carried out by the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Border Brigade as part of ongoing efforts to combat infiltration and smuggling.

Forces found 18 kilograms of narcotics packed in “98 bags, each containing 1,000 narcotic pills,” the statement said. The drugs were confiscated under legal procedures and an official report was filed.

Drugs remain a major challenge in Iraq, which has shifted from serving mainly as a transit route for narcotics from neighboring countries to becoming both a consuming market and a redistribution hub.

On Tuesday, Basra Criminal Court sentenced a woman to death for drug trafficking after authorities found 10 kilograms of narcotics in her possession, including methamphetamine, tramadol and hashish.

The General Directorate of Narcotics Affairs reported nationwide seizures of 250 kilograms of drugs and the arrest of 59 “international dealers” in September. In the first quarter of 2025, authorities arrested 3,006 people on drug-related offenses and courts issued 973 sentences, according to an April report.

Between January and August 2024, Iraqi courts handed down 140 death sentences and 500 life sentences in narcotics cases, reflecting the judiciary’s continued use of the harshest penalties against high-level drug offenders.