UK minister says willing to work with Iraq on combating drugs

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Kingdom’s security minister on Monday told Rudaw that they are willing to cooperate with the Iraqi government in combating the spread of narcotics, blaming Syria for exacerbating the problem.

During a visit to Baghdad, Tom Tugendhat, the UK’s Minister of State for Security, addressed the extent of the threat drugs poses to Iraq and the wider region, saying that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been trying to sell “misery” and “death” to Iraqi families through exporting captagon.

“This is absolutely wrong. This is a regime that has no respect for the lives of Iraqis or indeed anybody else in the region,” Tugendhat told Rudaw’s Anmar Ghazi, stressing that the UK is “looking to work with Iraqi security forces and with the [Mohammed Shia’ al-] Sudani government to make sure that we are facing this challenge.”

Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant which has been spreading across the Middle East, with Syria as the main supplier and Saudi Arabia as the primary consumer.

The United States in March slammed sanctions on two of Assad’s cousins, as well as other affiliates, over captagon drug trafficking.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani in July ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.

The Iraqi PM received Tugendhat for a meeting on Monday, discussing boosting bilateral cooperation in the fields of security, military, and combating terrorism.

Sudani “highlighted the need to collaborate with the British side to combat cross-border crimes, particularly smuggling, human trafficking, drug-related offenses, and recovering stolen funds as well as the extradition of individuals sought by the Iraqi judiciary for cases related to corruption,” read a statement from the premier’s office.

The British minister expressed the UK’s willingness to provide further support and modern technologies to the Iraqi security forces.

Iraqi and British officials held a two-day strategic dialogue in London in July, during which the UK reiterated its commitment to support Baghdad in various sectors and the two sides agreed to increase cooperation in the fields of security, economy, human rights, and others.

There are up to 1400 British personnel in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq providing military assistance and advice to the Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces.