Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi customs officers on Thursday arrested one suspect and seized about 45,000 drug pills hidden inside an empty tanker entering from Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing, the General Commission of Customs announced.

The Customs Commission did not identify the type of pills.

Al-Waleed, in Al-Anbar province, links Iraq with Syria through the Al-Tanf area and reopened on April 2 after being closed since 2014 due to the war with ISIS. Cross-border traffic has since expanded, with about 1,000 tankers departing daily through Al-Waleed and the Trebil crossing with Jordan combined, according to local officials.

In June, Iraqi authorities announced the dismantling of an international trafficking network in Syria’s Deir Ez-Zor and Homs provinces, where nine suspects were arrested and 200 kilograms of drugs allegedly bound for Iraq were seized. During the first half of 2026, Iraqi authorities dismantled 378 drug trafficking networks, including 59 international groups, and seized nearly 1.98 tons of narcotics, according to the Interior Ministry. Courts also issued 58 death sentences and 236 life sentences in drug-related cases.

Read more: The Smuggler's Almanac: Iraq's war against narco-innovation