Shafaq News – Basra (Updated July 31, 13:10)

Iraq’s Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari announced on Wednesday the dismantling of a major international drug trafficking network operating inside Syria.

Speaking at a press conference in Basra, al-Shammari said the operation was coordinated with Syrian authorities and led to the seizure of over 1.35 million Captagon pills and the arrest of members of a trafficking cell active in Syrian territory.

“The suspects were apprehended inside Syria, and the drugs were confiscated during the mission.”

“This operation is a model of regional cooperation,” the ministry said in its statement, “and represents a decisive step in protecting Iraq and neighboring countries from the dangers of transnational drug networks.”

Brigadier General Khaled Eid, Head of Syria’s Anti-Narcotics Department, later confirmed the operation stemmed from precise intelligence coordination with Iraqi counterparts and was executed through a joint security mission.

Speaking with Shafaq News, security analyst Mahmoud Suleiman called the operation a “significant breakthrough,” emphasizing that continued success depends on real-time intelligence sharing to dismantle supply chains and domestic distribution routes.

To bolster long-term defenses, both governments are reportedly discussing the deployment of advanced surveillance systems and expanded border controls to seal off illegal crossings exploited by organized crime networks.

Iraq shares a 600-kilometer border with Syria, where, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), over 80 percent 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.