Iraqi forces shoot down glider in Basra carrying about one million ‘narcotic pills’ 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Iraqi security forces have shot down a glider carrying nearly one million “narcotic pills,” the military media announced on Friday. 

The "homemade glider" was flying over the southern parts of the oil-rich province of Basra when the border guards and a unit from the intelligence agency opened fire on the aircraft, forcing the pilot to land, the Security Media Cell said. 

The flying object carried around one million “narcotic pills,” the media agency said, without elaborating on what kind of drugs were confiscated. 

The security forces are still searching for the pilot as he managed to escape. 

Basra is one of the southern Iraqi provinces believed to be a hub for narcotics trafficking to other countries in the region, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Iraqi security forces frequently launch operations to arrest alleged drug traffickers and confiscate narcotics.

In a matter of three months in 2022, the country’s security forces have arrested "four thousand drug dealers," the anti-narcotics agency announced recently. 

In a raid in early May, over six million Captagon pills were seized in Baghdad.

Captagon is one of the most widely traded illegals drug in the Middle East. It is a brand name for an amphetamine-like stimulant. Syria is thought to be the main producer of the drug, while Saudi Arabia has become the largest consumer.