Almost 100,000 tonnes of expired goods seized at major Kurdistan Region border crossing in two years

ZAKHO, Kurdistan Region — There are 10 inspection points at the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing, where goods sent by Turkish and Kurdish traders to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq are examined.

According to the border crossing's administration, more than 92,000 tonnes of expired food, cosmetics, and medical supplies have been confiscated at Ibrahim Khalil in the past two years. In the last two months alone, nearly 8,000 tonnes of goods have been confiscated. 

Some of the goods have been sent back to their countries of origin, while the rest have been burned.

"They [border security] inspect the cargo. If they find something which is not up to standard, they have the goods sent back to Turkey," truck driver Ageed Sleman said.

"If we know the goods are harmful and have been rejected, but they've been smuggled or reimported to the Kurdistan Region's markets for a second time, a legal committee looks to ban the trader from importing any other goods," border crossing administration spokesperson Kami Kamal said.

Reporting by Yousif Musa
Translation and video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed