Diyala police foil silver smuggling attempt

DIYALA — Diyala police said Sunday they thwarted an attempt to smuggle 40 kilograms of silver into Saadiya district from a northern governorate, arresting a suspect and taking legal measures in the case.

In a statement dated Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, the Diyala Police Command said the operation was carried out “based on precise intelligence information,” adding that patrols from the Saadiya Police Department intercepted the shipment under the direct supervision of Diyala police chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kazem Atiya.

The command said the silver was being transported from “one of the northern governorates,” and that the suspect was arrested at the scene. “Legal measures were taken against him in accordance with the law,” the statement said.

The reference to a “northern governorate” commonly denotes areas within the Kurdistan Region, where checkpoints operate between federal authorities and the regional administration, each applying its own security and customs procedures. Police did not specify at which point the silver was intercepted or whether it passed through multiple checkpoints.

Diyala police said they would continue pursuing smuggling activity. “Our hand will remain firm against anyone who seeks to tamper with the security of the country and its economy,” the statement said, adding that police will proceed “without leniency in pursuing smuggling networks and bringing them to justice.”

The attempted smuggling comes during sharp fluctuations in silver prices globally and locally. International markets saw silver surge to historic levels in late January, breaking the $100-per-ounce threshold as investors turned to precious metals and industrial demand strengthened. Since Friday, however, prices have retreated sharply as global benchmarks declined — silver was trading near $85 per ounce on international markets, down from recent highs above $120 earlier in the week — with losses attributed to rapid trading shifts and profit-taking.