Iraqi security officers empty a sack of seized Captagon pills during a counter-narcotics operation
Iraq dismantles cross-border Captagon network, seizes 2.5 million pills
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Thursday it dismantled an international drug manufacturing and trafficking network in a joint operation with Syrian authorities, arresting one suspect inside Iraq and two others in Syria and seizing about 2.5 million Captagon pills.
In a statement, the ministry said the operation was carried out by the General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances “as part of ongoing efforts to combat transnational organized crime, and based on the directives of the interior minister.” It described the action as a “qualitative cross-border security operation” conducted in coordination with Syria’s Anti-Narcotics Department.
The ministry said the network specialized in “manufacturing, smuggling and promoting narcotic substances,” and that the operation followed “precise intelligence work and joint security coordination.”
According to the statement, the operation resulted in the arrest of a suspect identified as “(A.A.)” inside Iraqi territory, the arrest of two other network members inside Syria, and the seizure of “approximately 2,500,000 — two million and five hundred thousand — Captagon pills.” The ministry said the haul dealt “a qualitative blow” to the network and contributed to dismantling one of its main trafficking routes.
Legal measures were taken against the suspect arrested in Iraq, who was referred to the competent judicial authorities, the statement said. It added that Iraqi and regional counter-narcotics agencies are continuing to pursue remaining members of the network “based on accurate intelligence information.”
The Interior Ministry said the operation reflects the growing level of regional security coordination and the capacity of Iraqi forces to confront cross-border threats and protect society from drugs.
The announcement follows a series of counter-narcotics operations involving regional partners. On Dec. 22, the narcotics directorate said it arrested four internationally wanted suspects and seized 200,000 Captagon pills in a joint operation with Syrian authorities after providing intelligence compiled with Iraq’s National Intelligence Service.
On Dec. 18, the Interior Ministry said it carried out a preemptive operation with Iran, seizing 64 kilograms of narcotics in Abadan and arresting a suspect through what it described as “effective international security coordination.”
Earlier, on Dec. 1, the ministry said Iraqi forces arrested two alleged international traffickers inside Syria and seized 57 kilograms of hashish prepared for smuggling into Iraq, describing that operation as a product of regional cooperation and “a clear expression of mutual trust” between security agencies.
Iraqi officials say the country has come under increasing pressure from narcotics trafficking in recent years, prompting expanded cross-border operations, rising seizures and arrests, and sustained efforts to dismantle international smuggling networks.