BAGHDAD, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari said Monday that security forces seized more than nine tons of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in February.
In a statement, al-Shammari said anti-narcotics forces carried out numerous operations last month across Iraq and seized a total of 390 kg of narcotic drugs and nine tons of psychotropic substances.
He said that up to 1,431 users and drug dealers, including six foreign dealers, were arrested and two wanted drug dealers were killed, with 124 weapons and 141 vehicles seized.
During the operations, a security member was killed, and three others were wounded, al-Shammari added.
The chaos and conflicts that have engulfed Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003 have impeded successive Iraqi governments from effectively addressing the threat of drugs.
In May 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani underlined the importance of waging "a war on drugs," saying drug dealing remains one of the main ways of financing terrorism, and the circulation of drugs flourishes in the shadow of terrorism. ■
