Iraq and Kurdistan Region Foil International Drug Smuggling Operation

PUKMEDIA

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Iraq's General Directorate of Narcotics Affairs and Psychotropic Substances has announced the dismantling of an international drug trafficking network following a joint operation with security forces in the Kurdistan Region.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Directorate said the intelligence-led operation was carried out in close coordination with the Kurdistan Region Security (Asayish) Agency in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, resulting in the seizure of 38 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine and the arrest of members of a cross-border trafficking network.

According to the Directorate, the operation followed extensive intelligence gathering and sustained surveillance, enabling security forces to monitor the network's activities before moving to dismantle it.

Officials said the drugs were intended to be smuggled through the Arar border crossing to a neighbouring country, but were intercepted before reaching their destination.

The Directorate described the operation as a significant blow to organised drug trafficking networks and said it demonstrated the effectiveness of cooperation between Iraqi federal authorities and the Kurdistan Region's security services.

It added that continued coordination between the two sides plays a vital role in disrupting organised crime networks and preventing the cross-border trafficking of narcotics.


PUKMEDIA