Iraq’s federal drug enforcement authorities announced on Thursday a significant seizure of 100 kilograms of Captagon pills intended for distribution in Baghdad, marking another success in the country’s ongoing crackdown on narcotics. The operation, coordinated by Iraq’s General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substance Affairs, was conducted in collaboration with the anti-narcotics directorate in Erbil.

The directorate revealed that “high-level security cooperation” led to the arrest of an international trafficker, a foreign national skilled in smuggling narcotics, who has reportedly confessed to his involvement in the smuggling ring.

Arkan Ali, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region’s anti-narcotics directorate, told Rudaw that the arrest followed intelligence provided by Kurdistan Region authorities to their federal counterparts, underscoring the growing cooperation between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in tackling the narcotics crisis.

The drug trade, particularly Captagon, an amphetamine stimulant, has been a rising concern across Iraq and the broader Middle East. Iraqi authorities seized three million Captagon pills in March alone, and in the first six months of 2024, nearly two tons of narcotics were seized nationwide, according to a July report by the Interior Ministry.

To combat the escalating drug crisis, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces except the Kurdistan Region, pledging to fight drug trafficking with the same determination as counter-terrorism efforts.

In 2023, over 19,000 arrests were made in Iraq on drug-related charges, with more than 15 tons of psychotropic substances confiscated in the country’s determined campaign to curb the spread of narcotics.