BAGHDAD, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi and Syrian anti-narcotics forces carried out a joint operation inside Syrian territory, seizing hundreds of kilograms of drugs and arresting several suspects wanted internationally, Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.
A statement from the ministry said a force from Iraq's General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs entered Syria in coordination with Syrian anti-drug authorities.
The operation led to the seizure of about 320 kilograms of narcotics and the arrest of several members of cross-border trafficking networks, it said, without giving further details.
Syria's internal security authority also confirmed it intercepted a major drug shipment on Wednesday, confiscating 108 kilograms of hashish and more than 1.27 million captagon pills, worth millions of U.S. dollars on the street.
On Monday, the internal security authority said it had seized about 12 million captagon pills during a raid on a smuggling network near Damascus. Captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant, is among the most widely trafficked illegal drugs in Syria and the region.
The announcements came two days after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani said Iraq and Syria maintain "ongoing security coordination and cooperation" through their embassies in Baghdad and Damascus to monitor and combat Islamic State militants and drug trafficking networks. ■
