A million Captagon pills that were seized as criminals tried to smuggle them into Iraq on Monday. Photo: Interior Ministry
A million Captagon pills that were seized as criminals tried to smuggle them into Iraq on Monday. Photo: Interior Ministry
A million Captagon pills that were seized as criminals tried to smuggle them into Iraq on Monday. Photo: Interior Ministry
A million Captagon pills that were seized as criminals tried to smuggle them into Iraq on Monday. Photo: Interior Ministry

Iraq investigates smuggling of Captagon pills into Jordan


Sinan Mahmoud
  • English
  • Arabic

Iraq has launched an investigation following the seizure of six million Captagon pills by Jordan, confirming that the amphetamines had been smuggled through a major crossing between the two countries.

Iraq's customs chief Shakir Al Zubaidi ordered the probe on Monday, the state-run Iraqi News Agency reported.

Jordanian authorities announced the seizure of the Captagon pills at the Karamah crossing on Sunday, describing it as one of the largest drug hauls in the kingdom.

The amphetamines, weighing about 1,000kg, were hidden in two shipments of date paste, Jordan Customs said. One shipment contained 509kg and the other 483kg.

Mr Al Zubaidi suspended the director general of the Treibel crossing on Iraq's side of the border, as well as his deputy and five other employees.

Legal action will be initiated against the exporting company, with the investigation expected to be concluded by Thursday, Mr Al Zubaidi said.

Meanwhile, the intelligence department of Iraq's Interior Ministry thwarted an attempt to smuggle a million Captagon pills into the country on Monday.

The department did not mention the country of origin but said the amphetamines had been intercepted “at the Iraqi borders” in western Anbar province.

Four dealers — three foreigners and one Iraqi — were arrested in the border town of Qaim, the department said.

The town is about 400km west of Baghdad, near the Syrian border.

Iraq has long been considered a corridor for the smuggling of drugs to neighbouring countries.

Since 2003, when the US-led invasion removed Saddam Hussein's regime, drug use in Iraq has also greatly increased.

Security and health officials blame weak governments that followed, as well as widespread corruption among security forces, porous borders and a lack of co-operation between government agencies.

Captagon has become the second most widely used drug in the country, according to the Health Ministry, overtaking tramadol, heroin and hashish.

Iran is the main source of crystal methamphetamine found in the country while Syria is the source of most of the Captagon, Iraqi officials have said. Lebanon is also a source.

But drugs also come from Turkey or from Iran via the self-ruled Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.

Last week, Iraq burnt about six tonnes of illegal drugs in what officials described as the largest haul to be destroyed in more than a decade.

Wearing white overalls and face masks, government officials piled Captagon, cannabis and cocaine in holes dug into the sand, doused them with fuel and set them on fire. Crystal methamphetamine and hashish were also destroyed.

Health Minister Saleh Al Hasnawi, who supervised the event outside a military base near the capital Baghdad, said it was the first “destruction operation of this magnitude” since 2009.

As is the case with Iraq, Jordan has stepped up security operations across the kingdom in recent weeks to curb the illegal trade of the highly profitable drug.

The border with Syria has become the main conduit for the trade of Captagon since Syrian regime forces retook the area from rebels in 2018 after a deal was reached between Russia, the US and Israel.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:

2006 - 2
2007 - 8
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2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8

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Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now

There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:

1. Rising US interest rates

The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.

Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”

At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.

2. Stronger dollar

High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.” 

3. Global trade war

Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”

4. Eurozone uncertainty

Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”

The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?

The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.

A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.

Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.

The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.

When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.

Napoleon
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While you're here
Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

Jawan
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Company profile

Name: The Concept

Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal

Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: 2017

Number of employees: 7

Sector: Aviation and space industry

Funding: $250,000

Future plans: Looking to raise $1 million investment to boost expansion and develop new products

MATCH INFO

Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD

* Second leg in Australia on October 10

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10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m

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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

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Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

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In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Updated: December 27, 2022, 11:36 AM`