WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- Because of poor border controls and lawlessness, Iraq is emerging as a major transit point for hard drugs, say U.N. officials.
Professor Hamid Ghodse, President of the International Narcotics Control Board told a meeting in Vienna last week that heroin produced in Afghanistan is passing through Iraq and then Jordan en route to final destinations in Asia and Europe.
Moreover, tranquilizers and other controlled substances are widely available in the country without a prescription, Ghodse told the meeting, according to a press statement from the board, a U.N. organization.
Last month, three million pills of Captagon -- a stimulant similar to amphetamine -- were seized at the Iraqi-Jordanian border.
He said smugglers were able to enter the country -- home to many Islamic holy sites -- disguised as pilgrims, and that hospitals in the capital Baghdad and elsewhere were treating a rising number of cases of drug-related intoxication.
"The pattern is similar to what we have seen in other post-conflict situations," said Ghodse, according to the board's press release. "Weakening of border controls and security infrastructure makes countries into convenient logistic and transit points... for drug traffickers."
He added that the Iraqi Government had an "exemplary" record of cooperation with the board, but that the international assistance it depended upon to implement counter-drug measures was impeded by the security situation.
