Kurdistan Region destroys over half a ton of Captagon in Erbil

ERBIL, Iraq — The Kurdistan Region's Directorate for Combating Narcotics has burned 577 kilograms of Captagon pills in Erbil, the directorate said. Captain Arkan Omar, a directorate official, told a press conference that the substance was destroyed by a drug identification and destruction commission established under Article 40 of the region's 2021 Anti-Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law, following court approvals. Omar said the Kurdistan Regional Government equipped the commission with the technical equipment needed to safeguard seized materials. He added that the files of multiple defendants accused of drug trafficking and distribution have been referred to the region's competent courts for prosecution and sentencing. Captagon is a synthetic drug widely produced in the Middle East, with smuggling activity rising in recent years. The destroyed shipment in Erbil marks one of the larger publicly reported seizures handled by the Kurdistan Region's anti-narcotics directorate.