Iraq, Syria Seize Over 1.3 Million Captagon Pills in Cross-Border Drug Bust
1.35M Captagon pills seized in Iraq-Syria drug bust. Joint operation in Damascus nets major smuggling ring, with arrests made. Iraqi PM al-Sudani oversaw cross-border raid targeting 'dangerous international network.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – In a joint security operation between Iraq and Syria, authorities have seized over 1.35 million Captagon pills and arrested several individuals involved in the smuggling network, Iraq’s Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari announced on Wednesday.
According to a statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), the operation was carried out under the direct supervision of Iraqi Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and with field-level oversight from Minister al-Shammari himself.
The General Directorate of Drug Control launched the targeted operation based on precise intelligence and legal authorization from the Central Investigative Court in Rusafa. The effort was conducted outside Iraq’s national borders in close coordination with Syrian authorities.
The ministry stated that a specialized unit from Iraq’s Drug Control Directorate, acting on in-depth intelligence and accurate sources within trafficking networks, collaborated with Syria’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate to carry out a significant security mission in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The coordinated raid resulted in the seizure of more than 1.35 million Captagon tablets—equivalent to approximately 2,015 kilograms of narcotics—marking the dismantling of one of the most dangerous international drug trafficking rings in the region.
The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) also reported on the operation, stating: “The Drug Control Administration at Syria’s Ministry of Interior, in coordination with the General Directorate for Drug Control at Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, conducted a high-level security operation that led to the seizure of 1.35 million Captagon pills prepared for smuggling out of the country. Several suspects involved in the operation were arrested and transferred to the competent judiciary for legal proceedings.”
“This achievement represents a milestone in the framework of international cooperation to confront cross-border threats,” the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said. “It demonstrates the Iraqi state’s commitment to protecting society from the scourge of drugs and pursuing narcotics traffickers wherever they may be.”
