Sulaimani security confiscate millions of illegal pills in huge drug bust

A local anti-drug directorate on Sunday announced the confiscation of millions of illegal pills in the province of Sulaimani.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A local anti-drug directorate on Sunday announced the confiscation of millions of illegal pills in the province of Sulaimani.

“We have arrested four people who were caught smuggling two million Tramadol pills, hidden inside cigarette packs,” Jalal Amin Beg, Director of the anti-drug directorate in Sulaimani told reporters.

He mentioned the detainees were not from Sulaimani, and that they have prior arrests for being involved in the trafficking of illegal substances.

Beg also urged for drug consumers and dealers to be separated from other prisoners in jail to prevent more people from learning how to get involved in drug trafficking.

“The drugs are brought to the Kurdistan Region from surrounding countries. They are not produced in the region,” he said without mentioning any specific country. However, neighboring Iran is known as a major transit point for Afghan-produced opiates heading to Europe.

In 2016, 310 people were arrested in Sulaimani for consuming and dealing drugs, ten of whom were women. In 2017, so far 192 people have been arrested, four of them women according to data provided by the anti-drug directorate in Sulaimani.

Editing by Nadia Riva