Shafaq News/ On Monday, a UN report disclosed drug trade routes spanning from north to south Iraq.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) warned that Iraq and countries in the Middle and Near East could become hubs for narcotic production and trade, revealing such attempts in Al-Muthanna Governorate, southern Iraq, as well as in Kirkuk Governorate, northern Iraq, and Tuz Khurmatu district, Saladin Governorate.
"Iraq has been experiencing a dramatic surge in drug trafficking and consumption for the past five years," stated the report. In 2023 alone, authorities seized 24 million captagon tablets, equivalent to over 4.1 tonnes, with an estimated retail value of between $84 million and $144 million.
The UNODC report emphasized, "Iraq appears to be at the nexus of regional trafficking routes for both methamphetamine and captagon," highlighting the country's emerging role in the complex drug trafficking dynamics of the Near and Middle East region.
Captagon seizures in Iraq reportedly tripled between 2022 and 2023, with overall amounts seized in 2023 being 34 times higher than in 2019. The report added.
Iraq, with its porous 600-kilometer (370-mile) border with Syria, regularly announces large seizures of captagon. According to UNODC, 82% of the captagon seized in the region between 2019 and 2023 originated in Syria, followed by neighboring Lebanon at 17%.
In addition to captagon, Iraq is also becoming a conduit for the flow of highly addictive methamphetamine stimulants produced mostly in Afghanistan and destined for the Gulf and Europe. Seizures of methamphetamine in Iraq increased almost sixfold in 2023 compared to 2019.
The UNODC report called attention to the growing drug trafficking issue in Iraq, highlighting the need for enhanced regional cooperation and strategic measures to combat this escalating threat.
Furthermore, it outlined seven recommendations to combat this issue, particularly affecting youth, with unemployment cited as a major cause.
These recommendations included implementing drug-related agreements between Iraq, the League of Arab States, and the Gulf states, as well as establishing a regional center for law enforcement and security specialists.
Earlier today, Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani inaugurated the second Baghdad International Regional Conference on Combating Drugs, attended by Interior Ministers, anti-narcotics agencies from 9 Arab and regional countries, the Secretary-General of Arab Interior Ministers' Council, Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Key recommendations from the meeting emphasized organizing regular meetings for drug control agency leaders to assess the effectiveness of implemented measures and launching targeted media campaigns through satellite channels to raise awareness.