Unknown-Origin Medicines Flood Iraqi Markets

The Baghdad Provincial Council revealed today, Thursday, the reasons behind the increased rate of confiscation of smuggled medicines in the capital recently. Council member Asil Al-Khalidi stated that "the increase in the rate of confiscation of smuggled medicines in Baghdad in recent times is attributed to the significant progress in the performance of security and intelligence agencies." She pointed out that "these operations are important for maintaining public health, as most of these medicines are expired, and some are not licensed for use by the Ministry of Health." Al-Khalidi added that "these medicines are not manufactured in Iraq but are smuggled in, with most of them coming to Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces via cities in the Kurdistan Region." She emphasized that "therefore, security measures must be tightened to prevent the entry of any unlicensed substances for human use, in order to ensure the safety of citizens." It is worth noting that the National Security Agency announced on Tuesday the confiscation of 20 tons of smuggled and expired medicines in Baghdad.