DUBAI, UAE - The General Directorate for Drug Affairs seized 100 kilograms of Captagon pills and dismantled an international drug trafficking network in Iraq's Anbar, authorities announced Sunday.

Acting on precise intelligence that an international network planned to smuggle a shipment of drugs from a neighboring country, the Director-General of Drug Affairs formed a specialized task force led by the Anbar Drug Affairs Directorate. 

Over a seven-day intelligence operation, authorities set up a carefully planned ambush, officials said.

The task force apprehended four suspects in Anbar Province, who were caught in possession of 100 kilograms of Captagon pills. 

The pills were hidden inside a fruit transport vehicle in locations that were difficult to access, but authorities were able to locate them.

The four suspects have been detained on charges of international drug trafficking. Under Iraqi law, the penalty for such crimes can reach the death penalty, according to Article 27 of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017.

Following the 2003 US invasion, Iraq has seen tremendous increase in drug trafficking and use, despite continuous attempts to combat the phenomena.

In late May, the Iraqi government announced that they had seized 2.5 million Captagon pills in the provinces of Najaf and Anbar.

In a 2022 report, the Washington Institute said that prior to the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq served merely as a transit route for drugs produced in Iran and Pakistan, but following the war, Iraq has developed into a manufacturer of drugs as well. 

Iraqi politicians have previously warned against the rapid increase of drugs in the country.

Despite consecutive government cabinet’s pledging to fight the drug phenomena in the country and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani having ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers across all Iraqi provinces, the country’s infrastructure is still too weak to combat the rapid increase in drug use.