Babylon police seize sorcery materials hidden in vehicle, detain suspect

BABYLON, Iraq — Police in Babylon province said they recovered sorcery and fortune-telling materials concealed inside a vehicle and arrested a suspect in connection with the find. The Babylon Provincial Police Command said officers at the Colonel Salam Shannun checkpoint flagged a resident of Najaf during a routine inspection and found the items, including some hidden in the car's trunk. The seized materials were confiscated and legal proceedings were opened against the suspect, the command added. In a separate incident, officers at the Captain Muhammad Maan checkpoint detained a Baghdad resident from Sadr City who was riding an unregistered motorcycle and handed him over to the Salam Shannun police station. Police said a vehicle stopped at the Martyr Sergeant Firas Taha al-Azzawi checkpoint was found to be subject to a seizure order issued by the Babylon Traffic Department, with legal procedures completed in that case. The Babylon police command said security inspections would continue to curb illegal activity in the province.