The Iraqi authorities seized last year record quantities of captagon pills, at an estimated value of $144 million, according to a report published on Monday by the United Nations, which warned that the country was turning into a major “hub” for drug trafficking.
On Monday, Iraq hosted a conference aimed at strengthening joint cooperation in the field of drug control, with the participation of ministers and officials from regional and Arab countries.
A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said: “Iraq has been experiencing a dramatic surge in drug trafficking and consumption for the past five years.”
In 2023 alone, authorities “seized a record-high 24 million captagon tablets”, the equivalent of over 4.1 tons, with an estimated “retail value” of between $84 million and $144 million, the report added.
“Iraq appears to be at the nexus of regional trafficking routes for both methamphetamine and captagon,” UNODC said, adding that it is “becoming a critical juncture in the complex trafficking dynamics observed in the Near and Middle East region.”
The report noted that 82 percent of the captagon seized in the region between 2019 and 2023 originated in Syria, followed by neighboring Lebanon, at 17 percent.
Iraq is also becoming a conduit for the flow of highly addictive methamphetamine stimulants produced mostly in Afghanistan.
During a Baghdad conference on Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani said: “Coordinating and cooperating to pursue and dismantle drug gangs will serve regional and international security.”
Iraq “is read for cooperation” to fight “cross-border crime,” he added.
“We will support any effort aiming to eliminate drug hubs, manufacturing stations, and cutting off their supply chains,” the Iraqi premier underlined.
