The laboratory was seized in a joint operation between the Rapid Response Force and the General Directorate of Narcotics Control. At least 27.5 kilograms of captagon pills were confiscated.
“Today, and maybe for the first time, a laboratory where captagon is produced was seized," Saad Maan, spokesperson for Iraq's Interior Ministry, said on Sunday, lauding the efforts of the anti-narcotics directorate.
Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant which has been spreading across the Middle East, with Syria as the main supplier and Saudi Arabia the primary consumer.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani last week ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.
“God willing, Iraq’s war on drugs will be a victorious war. The same way we achieved victory against terrorism, we will undoubtedly achieve victory against drugs and drug lords,” Maan said.
Around 15,000 people were arrested on drug-related charges in Iraq in 2022 and more than 400 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated, according to the General Directorate of Narcotics Control in Iraq’s Ministry of Interior. Around 250,000 captagon pills were seized from a school under renovation in Anbar province in late June.