Iraqi authorities announced today, Sunday, the seizure of a Captagon production factory in the south of the country, marking a first of its kind in a nation that has recently become a transit route for smuggling these narcotic pills.
Said Maan, the Director of Relations and Media at the Ministry of Interior, stated in a short video posted on social media: "Today, for perhaps the first time, a laboratory for the manufacturing of narcotic substances, particularly Captagon, has been seized."
The Ministry of Interior, in a statement today, announced that the seized factory is located in Al-Muthanna, a southern governorate bordering Saudi Arabia. The statement specified that "the factory is equipped to produce Captagon pills with raw materials estimated at twenty-seven and a half kilograms, along with special seals for the narcotic pills."
Major General Said Maan described the Al-Muthanna factory as "an attempt by some to manufacture the pills domestically, as we mostly know this substance comes from outside Iraq."
According to Major General Maan, "Iraq's war against drugs has yielded positive results, and the efforts exerted by drug enforcement fighters in recent days have achieved commendable outcomes, including the seizure of large quantities of drugs and the arrest of major drug dealers." He pledged that "Iraq will triumph in its war on drugs."
On Friday, the Iraqi General Directorate for Drug Affairs announced the dismantling of "an international drug trafficking network," arresting three of its members, and seizing "two million Captagon pills" in Al-Muthanna governorate.
Iraq, which shares borders with Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, is considered a transit route for smuggling these pills, particularly narcotics in general, but in recent years, substance abuse rates have significantly increased.
In addition to its border areas with neighboring Syria, southern Iraq bordering eastern neighbor Iran is also an important route for smuggling drugs, especially crystal meth. In November, the Iraqi National Security Service announced the arrest of a man who was manufacturing crystal meth in Iraq.
