Shafaq News- Maysan

Iraqi police dismantled an international criminal network composed of three foreigners in Maysan, southeastern Iraq, accused of smuggling and transporting crystal methamphetamine into Iraq, the General Directorate for Narcotics Affairs announced on Tuesday.

Authorities arrested the suspects in the act and seized one kilogram of meth in their possession.

On June 8, Iraqi security forces seized more than 10,000 narcotic pills and arrested a suspected drug trafficker in separate operations in Al-Anbar province.

Smugglers recently turned to airborne balloons to move drugs across Iraq’s borders, particularly along Syrian and Jordanian routes, to evade direct contact with border patrols, Akram Al-Rashid, director of Al-Anbar’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate, told Shafaq News in November 2025.

Read more: Iraq fights back against synthetic drug flood engulfing the Middle East