Erbil security thwarts attempt to smuggle illegal drugs to Australia, Canada

A photo released by Erbil security forces shows a drug-trafficking suspect along with seized drugs he is accused of smuggling. (Photo: KRG)
A photo released by Erbil security forces shows a drug-trafficking suspect along with seized drugs he is accused of smuggling. (Photo: KRG)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) –  The Anti-Narcotics Directorate in the Kurdistan Region’s capital province of Erbil announced on Wednesday that its forces had arrested one suspect in possession of 3 kg of controlled substances allegedly intended for smuggling into both Canada and Australia.

The Directorate said in a statement that, on Friday, officers noticed a package with a large jug that they deemed suspicious. After inspecting and opening it, they found that it contained approximately 880 grams of the drug known as crystal and was intended to be smuggled into Australia through a transport company.

It should be noted that there is often confusion about the term "crystal" 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.

The statement explained another incident that occurred on the following day, in which "the Directorate managed to seize another parcel that consisted of a piece of spare material for a mechanical device in which 1,840 grams of the substance were also hidden inside," indicating that it was being shipped to Canada.

Since the beginning of 2021, security forces attached to the Directorate "have impounded 214 kilograms of various banned substances, 556 kilograms of drug-laced tobacco, thousands of hallucinogenic pills, and 3,100 US dollars in counterfeit bills."

Read More: KRG destroys batch of illicit drugs on International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking

The sale or consumption of illicit drugs is strictly prohibited in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, where authorities often intercept shipments of drugs passing mainly through the provinces of Basra, Diyala, Erbil, and Sulaimani, specifically in the towns and villages connecting the autonomous federal region of Iraq with neighboring nations Iran and Turkey.