Head of the commission, Zya Pitros, told reporters on Sunday (May 21) that Zakho has become a bridge for transferring drugs from Iran to Turkey and Syria.
“According to the information we have received, drugs are entering Zakho from Iran as it is a border area,” the commission’s head added. “Part of it is exported to Turkey and Syria. What this means is that Zakho has become a bridge.”
Pitros warned all the Kurdish forces to deal with the issue because youth in the region may use the drugs if there is a prevalence of them in the area.
Kurdish officials warned that drug trafficking threatens to become an epidemic if anti-drug forces fail to curtail the rise of activities in the region.
The head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Anti-Drug Directorate in Sulaimani, Jalal Amin Bag, said on January 3 that the trade and use of drugs had increased in 2016.
According to security officials, many of the drugs were imported illegally to the Kurdistan Region from neighboring Iran.
(NRT)