BAGHDAD, Dec 28 (NNN-XINHUA) — The Iraqi security forces have confiscated 80 kg of narcotics and dismantled an international drug trafficking network in the southern province of Dhi Qar, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Upon intelligence reports, the Iraqi anti-narcotics forces arrested two suspects and seized 80 kg of Captagon pills in the province, the statement said.
Chaos and conflicts that swept the country since the U.S. invasion in 2003 have hindered successive Iraqi governments over the past decades from addressing the threat of illicit drug trade to Iraqi society.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani underlined in May the importance of waging “a war on drugs,” calling it as important as combating terrorism.
Drug dealing is one of the main ways to fund terrorism, and the circulation of drugs thrives in the shadow of terrorism, al-Sudani said.
