Maritime Operation in Arabian Gulf Seizes 150 kg Drugs, 21,000 Lyrica Pills

The General Directorate for Narcotics Affairs announced on Saturday a successful qualitative security operation in Iraqi territorial waters within the Arabian Gulf. The operation resulted in the seizure of 150 kilograms of narcotics and 21,000 Lyrica pills, in addition to the arrest of three suspects, including one foreigner. The operation was carried out by teams from Special Intelligence and Investigations Operations and the Intelligence Cell in Muthanna Narcotics, in cooperation with the Directorate of Military Intelligence and the Naval Force Command. This followed precise intelligence information from a neighboring country indicating suspicious smuggling activity through maritime routes. After subjecting the information to investigation and intelligence tracking, the executing force successfully located and apprehended a first boat with two Iraqi suspects on board. Continuous follow-up led to the identification and seizure of a second boat along with a foreign national suspect. The seizures included the mentioned quantities of narcotics and psychotropic pills, as well as the boats used in the smuggling operation. The Directorate affirmed that this qualitative operation reflects the expanded scope of intelligence work in pursuing drug trafficking networks and efforts to curb land and sea smuggling routes.