BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi interior ministry said on Thursday that Iraq and Syria had seized 2.5 million Captagon pills in a joint cross-border security operation.
The operation was carried out by Iraq's General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs in coordination with the Syrian Anti-Narcotics Department, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that the operation targeted an international network involved in manufacturing, smuggling, and distributing narcotics, resulting in the arrest of one suspect in Iraq and two in Syria.
Years of chaos and conflict since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion have hampered Iraq's counter-narcotics efforts. In May 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said the drug trade remained a major source of financing for militant groups.
