Navy intercepts boat carrying 90 kilograms of hashish, arrests three foreigners

BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces intercepted a boat in Iraqi territorial waters carrying 90 kilograms of hashish and arrested three foreign nationals, acting on a tip from a neighbouring country, the General Directorate for Narcotics Affairs said. A fourth suspect escaped and is being sought.

The narcotics directorate, the Naval Forces Command and the Military Intelligence Directorate checked the information and watched the suspects for a full day before tracking the boat and stopping it, the directorate said.

Security forces seized 1,147 kilograms of drugs and arrested 3,742 people in the first quarter, the Interior Ministry said, with courts issuing 26 death sentences and 119 life terms. The intelligence service intercepted more than a million Captagon pills and 100 kilograms of hashish moving through Iraq in May, and a maritime control facility opened in Basra in April to inspect vessels between the Gulf and the Shatt al-Arab.