Security forces seize smuggled medicines in Erbil
"The medicines were hidden in secret compartments on the tourist bus intended for smuggling," the Kurdistan24 correspondent noted.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Security forces in Erbil have intercepted a tourist bus used to smuggle a large quantity of medicines to Baghdad. The seizure included 377 cartons of medications for diabetes, blood pressure, cosmetics, and vitamins.
A Kurdistan 24 correspondent reported that the operation was conducted by the Erbil Asayish Directorate in coordination with the Erbil Mayor and Quality Control Committees within the Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Health.
The medicines were stored in a large warehouse, ignoring proper health instructions and temperature regulations for storing pharmaceuticals.
"The medicines were hidden in secret compartments on the tourist bus intended for smuggling," the correspondent noted.
Dr. Muhammad Rashid, Director of the Drug Market Monitoring Department in the Quality Control Department of the Erbil Health Directorate, told Kurdistan 24, “We seized several types of medicines in very large quantities—377 cartons in total—most of them for diabetes, blood pressure, cosmetics, and vitamins.”
Dr. Rashid added that the medicines were legally imported by a private pharmaceutical company in the Kurdistan Region.
However, the motive behind attempting to smuggle them illegally via a tourist bus to Baghdad and other southern cities in Iraq remains unclear.
"Storing medicines in this way affects their quality, especially since health instructions for storing medicines were not observed in this store," he continued.
Legal actions will be taken against those involved in the smuggling operation, Dr. Rashid emphasized.