Iraq's security forces have confiscated an estimated 1.1 tonnes of Captagon pills hidden inside a lorry that entered Iraq from Syria through Turkey, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.
The drug shipment, the largest to be seized in Iraq, was monitored and intercepted with the assistance of “important information” provided by Saudi Arabia's drug enforcement agency, ministry spokesman Brig Muqdad Meri said in a televised statement.
The operation, part of Iraq’s intensified anti-narcotics efforts, demonstrates growing regional co-operation aimed at dismantling illicit drug trade.
"The ministry has significantly advanced its capabilities in drug enforcement, using modern technology, evolving strategies and unprecedented intelligence-sharing with regional and international anti-narcotics organisations,” Brig Meri said.
Western anti-narcotics officials said Captagon, an addictive amphetamine-type stimulant, has been produced in Syria for years. Captagon – a mix of amphetamines also referred to as the “poor man’s cocaine” – is one of the more popular recreational drugs among affluent youth in the Middle East.
The regime of former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad long denied involvement in the Captagon trade.
The flow of the drug was one of the main reasons that Arab countries normalised ties with Mr Al Assad's government two years ago, as they sought co-operation in tackling smuggling operations.