Kurdistan confiscates 9 kg of illegal drugs in second major bust this week
Erbil’s Anti-narcotics Directorate announced on Wednesday that security forces had seized some nine kilograms of illegal drugs in the possession of a single suspect.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Erbil’s Anti-narcotics Directorate announced on Wednesday that security forces had seized some nine kilograms of illegal drugs in the possession of a single suspect.
In a statement, the Directorate said that its local department in Erbil province’s Soran district, near the Iranian border, conducted the operation.
The statement clarified that the substances confiscated appeared to consist of six kilograms of Hashish and three kilograms of crystal in the possession of one male who had been referred to the judiciary for further investigation and prosecution.
This marks the second arrest this week as security (Asayish) forces on Sunday arrested an alleged drug dealer in Erbil province who had been carrying more than six kilograms of three different kinds of drugs.
Read More: Erbil security forces seize over 6 kilograms of marijuana, opium, and crystal meth
It should be noted that there is often confusion about the term “crystal” in the region since it is commonly used as the local name for two different highly-addictive drugs. One is methamphetamine, known in much of the world as crystal meth, but it can also refer to high-purity street-level heroin, sometimes called “kerack.”
Kurdish and Iraqi authorities often intercept shipments of such controlled substances passing through the country, mainly in the provinces of Basra, Diyala, Erbil, and Sulaimani, specifically in the towns and villages connecting the three countries of Iran and Turkey.
The Kurdistan Regional Government announced in Dec. 2019 announced that, in 2019, security forces in the autonomous region had arrested 1,702 individuals that had been charged with the trafficking or possession of illegal drugs.
Read More: Kurdistan Region arrested over 1,700 for drug-related crimes in 2019
The sale and consumption of any non-prescription drugs are strictly forbidden in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. Most such controlled substances are smuggled into the region via the border with Iran on their way to Turkey, Syria, and, ultimately, Europe and North America.
Editing by John J. Catherine