BAGHDAD, March 29 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) said Friday that its forces busted a network of 11 drug dealers involved in smuggling narcotic drugs hidden inside walnuts.

A statement by the INSS said its forces arrested a major transporter smuggling narcotics hidden inside walnuts, adding that after investigation, they were able to detain the rest of the network members who were active in the capital Baghdad and the provinces of Basra, al-Qadisiyah, and Wasit.

The statement noted that the INSS forces raided a hideout belonging to these smugglers and found a quantity of narcotic drugs.

The chaos and conflicts that have engulfed Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003 have impeded successive Iraqi governments from effectively addressing the threat of drugs.

In May 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani underlined the importance of waging "a war on drugs," saying drug dealing remains one of the main ways of financing terrorism, and the circulation of drugs flourishes in the shadow of terrorism. Enditem

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