Iraq, Syria break up international drug network

Shafaq News- Baghdad/ Damascus

Iraqi authorities on Sunday announced the dismantling of an international drug trafficking network in Syria following a joint operation with Syrian security forces.

In a statement, Iraq's General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs said the operation was carried out in coordination with Syria's anti-narcotics authorities and was based on precise intelligence. The operation involved a series of coordinated raids in the Syrian provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Homs over several days.

According to the directorate, security forces arrested nine major drug traffickers and seized 200 kilograms of narcotics that were allegedly destined for smuggling into Iraq.

Iraq shares a 600-kilometer border with Syria, where, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), over 80% of the world’s Captagon supply is produced. UNODC figures show Iraq seized more than 24 million Captagon tablets in 2023 alone, an increase of 3,300% since 2019. The pills, which contain amphetamine-based stimulants, are often trafficked from southern Syria through western Iraqi provinces such as Al-Anbar and Nineveh, before being smuggled toward Gulf markets.

The country's anti-narcotics forces seized around 1.6 million tons of illicit substances during the first five months of 2026 and conducted 12 cross-border operations targeting trafficking networks.