Iraq border agency seizes 23 transit vehicles at Umm Qasr port over smuggling

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Border Ports Authority said 23 vehicles brought in for transit through the Middle Umm Qasr Port were seized on suspicion of smuggling. Authority spokesman Alaaddin al-Qaisi said the seizure at the port's entrance was carried out by the Middle Umm Qasr Port directorate under the supervision of the authority's head, Lt. Gen. Omar Adnan al-Waili. According to the statement, the vehicles were being moved in transit through Iraqi territory toward neighboring countries. The operation followed intelligence from the Middle Umm Qasr Customs Outpost and was approved by a judge at the Umm Qasr Investigative Court. A joint committee formed at the customs outpost found that the cars were being smuggled out using exemption documents issued to retired officers and families of war martyrs. The authority said inspections at border crossings would continue and that efforts to block similar smuggling attempts were ongoing.