Iraq’s Ministry of Interior announced that Iraqi security forces seized over a ton of Captagon pills hidden inside a truck that entered Iraq from Syria via Turkey.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, Major Miqdad Miri, stated in a press release carried by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) on Sunday, March 16, that this drug shipment is the largest ever seized in Iraq.

He added that the Iraqi security forces tracked the shipment and intercepted it based on “important information” provided by the Saudi Anti-Narcotics Agency.

Miri mentioned that “intelligence work enabled the General Directorate for Anti-Narcotics to seize a truck coming from the Syrian Arab Republic heading towards Iraq via Turkey, carrying a ton and 100 kilograms of Captagon pills and arrest the individuals involved in this crime and dismantle their network.”

The drug smuggling attempt came just days after the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani to Iraq, where he discussed a range of issues, most notably border security.

Issues related to the shared border between Syria and Iraq are among the topics raised in repeated bilateral meetings between the two countries, as Iraq claims that the Syrian border is a source for drug smuggling and individuals from the Islamic State group.

Before the fall of the Syrian regime on December 8, 2024, regional efforts were being made to end attempts to smuggle drugs from Syria to neighboring countries, especially Jordan, which serves as a land corridor to the Gulf Arab states, most notably Saudi Arabia.

Iraq has also announced on several occasions its seizure of drug shipments coming from Syria.

Since the new Syrian administration took over the reins of power in Syria, it announced the dismantling of drug factories that were run by individuals close to the Assad family, including the ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s brother.

Attempts to smuggle drugs have noticeably decreased since the regime’s fall, but they have not stopped completely, as Jordan previously announced earlier this year about attempts to smuggle pills from Syria into its territory.

On January 12, the Jordanian army announced that a clash occurred during an attempt to smuggle drugs into its territory, resulting in the death of one smuggler while the others fled back into Syrian territory.