Hidden in tubs: Iraq foils Syrian border drug smuggling

Shafaq News/ On Sunday, Iraqi border guards said they seized 11 kg of Captagon tablets and 4 kg of marijuana being ferried across the Euphrates River near the Baghouz crossing on the Syrian frontier.

The drugs were packed in sealed plastic tubs “in an attempt to conceal them,” the Border Guard Command added. A seizure report was filed and the haul handed to judicial authorities.

Western security agencies claim Captagon now underpins a trade worth about $10 billion a year, much of it routed through Syria and used to fund “militia networks.”

Meanwhile, Iraqi intelligence officers say the Baghouz corridor, once ISIS’ last redoubt, has become a favoured path for narcotics and weapons moving in both directions, prompting Baghdad to bolster river patrols and desert surveillance.