Diyala health directorate says 390,000 smuggled medicines seized near Kenaan

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Diyala's health directorate said on Sunday that approximately 390,000 smuggled medicines were seized in the Kenaan subdistrict during a joint operation with security forces. According to the directorate's statement, the operation was carried out under the director general's general directives and involved the Private Health Institutions Inspection Department, health units and teams from the Baghdad-based National Security Directorate. The security teams set up an ambush on a vehicle in a village in Kenaan subdistrict after receiving intelligence about smuggled drugs. An initial count found approximately 390,000 smuggled medicines inside the vehicle, and the violator was taken into custody. The directorate said the seized medicines had not been inspected by health authorities and described the operation as one of the largest aimed at curbing trade in medicines outside the health inspection system. It added that joint inspections with security units would continue and that legal action would be pursued to prevent the sale of smuggled and unregulated medicines.