LONDON: Iraqi authorities said that they have dismantled a criminal network in the Syrian capital Damascus involved in international drug trafficking.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry’s General Directorate of Drug Affairs revealed that officers seized more than 1.3 million capsules of captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant, during a special operation carried out in collaboration with their Syrian counterparts. The haul weighed about 215 kilograms and had a street value of millions of dollars.
Because the operation took place outside of Iraq, approval was obtained from the Rusafa Central Investigative Court in Baghdad. It was carried out under the supervision of Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, and its interior minister, Abdul Amir Al-Shammari.
The ministry said the operation was the result of thorough intelligence efforts and information from reliable sources, obtained in collaboration with the Syrian Anti-Narcotics Department.
It represented a significant advance in global efforts to address cross-border threats, the ministry added, and demonstrated Iraq’s commitment to protecting the public from drug trafficking.
