ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi authorities seized 500 grams of drugs being smuggled into the country across the border with Iran, the General Authority of Customs announced on Saturday.
"Border Customs Center, in cooperation and coordination with the Border Ports Authority, supporting security forces, and Customs police support, were able to seize an amount of crystal meth weighing 500 grams" at the Zurbatiyah crossing, the General Authority of Customs said in a statement.
"This operation is part of a series of strict field measures implemented by Customs to protect the borders and prevent the entry of narcotic and prohibited substances, in line with government directives to enhance community security and protect citizens from risks that threaten their health and safety,” it added.
The drugs were seized three days after Iraq and Iran had a meeting in Baghdad about cooperating to combat drug trafficking.
In recent years, Iraqi authorities have stepped up their fight against drug trafficking. The country, once mostly a transit route, has increasingly become a destination for narcotics - prompting alarm among officials and the public.
On August 20, Iraq’s interior ministry lauded the country as a “regional leader” in combating drugs, saying that authorities continue providing intelligence on international drug networks to combat the phenomenon.
The ministry referred to Iraqi intelligence cooperation in the bust of one of the Middle East’s largest Captagon manufacturing facilities in eastern Lebanon.
Iraqi authorities have seized 13 tons of narcotic substances since 2023, according to the ministry, and are using strict judicial rulings, including death sentences, to help deter major dealers. More than 270 death sentences were issued in comparison to five in the previous ten years.
Iraq is placed third among 138 countries for combating drugs, according to World Police Summit rankings.
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