Iraq security forces seize 12 million benzhexol pills

Iraqi security forces said Friday they had seized 12 million pills of the antispasmodic drug benzhexol, used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease but also abused as a hallucinogen.

National Security officers recovered the haul from a warehouse in east Baghdad in an operation in which they also made six arrests.

Iraqi security forces have intensified anti-narcotics operations in recent months, with several high-profile seizures reported.

Sharing borders with Syria as well as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, Iraq has served as a major conduit for traffickers of captagon, an amphetamine which is primarily produced in Syria but has its largest market in the wealthy Gulf states.

The Iraqi security forces regularly announce the seizure of narcotics, which are believed to have seen an uptick following the 2003 Iraq's liberation process. 

In a raid in 2022, the security forces seized over six million Captagon pills.

“Four thousand drug dealers” have been arrested in the country in connection with the illicit business in the period of three months just in 2022, according to an anti-narcotic official.

Authorities in the Kurdistan Region similarly announce the confiscation of tons of narcotics, particularly in the border areas.

Captagon is a trademark of a narcotic whose production hotspot is Syria. The main consumers are believed to be the Gulf countries, to which Iraq sometimes becomes a trade route.

Users feel mild euphoria after taking Captagon pills. The use of the drug leads to various health problems, including blood pressure, hallucinations, and blurred vision. Irritability and fatigue are also the two most common withdrawal symptoms of Captagon.

Additional reporting by AFP