More than 1,400 suspects arrested on drug-related offenses in February
Iraqi government officials destroying nearly six tons of drugs. Photo: Sabah Arar/AFP
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Ministry of Interior revealed on Monday that more than 1,400 suspects, including foreign traffickers, have been arrested by Iraqi security forces throughout Iraq on drug-related offenses in February.
According to a statement released by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, 1,431 suspects, including foreigners, distributing and consuming drugs have been arrested, the state news agency (INA) reported.
The statement illustrated that nine tons of psychoactive chemicals and almost 390 kilograms of narcotics were seized in the same month.
Despite remarkable efforts implemented by the Iraqi government to prevent drug dealing, the number of drug addicts and traffickers in the country has been alarmingly rising in recent years.
The interior ministries of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan said two weeks ago that they would form a cooperative communications unit to fight drug trafficking in the region.
Iraqi security forces discovered last July a Captagon production factory in Muthanna governorate in southern Iraq for the first time in the country.
Drug trafficking has become a profitable business in Iraq, with experts estimating its total value at more than $10 billion.
Reports mentioned that Iraq has long been a transit country for Captagon, the amphetamine-like stimulant plaguing the Middle East, but officials say it has also become a consumer market for the drug.