SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Most wanted drug dealer was detained in Maysan governorate in southeastern Iraq on Friday according to the state news agency.
The Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported that the General Directorate of Anti-Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control managed to detain the most wanted drug dealer in Maysan.
“The Anti-drug directorate and the Iraqi intelligence service were able to arrest the most wanted drug dealer in Maysan, who was coming from Najaf Governorate,” INA said.
He was detained with 10 kilograms of narcotic substances as well.
Maysan province shares a lengthy border with Iran which with thousands of people crossing each border daily.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Iran accounted for over 91% of opium seizures in 2020 and remains one of the major transit countries for drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Europe and other areas.
Earlier this year, Iraq’s Interior Ministry stated that cannabis and methamphetamines smuggled from Iran were among the most widely consumed narcotics in Iraq, according to al-Monitor.
Experts say it’s difficult for such a country as Iraq to handle the narcotic business where the government has a minimum effect on maintaining the state’s security due to the ongoing political chaos and disorder.
