Iraq’s Security Media Cell announced Oct. 30 the discovery of 6 kilograms (13 pounds) of hashish and 50 drug bars in al-Sakhrah area in the southern Maysan governorate, noting the increase in the drug trade and abuse in central and southern Iraq in particular. On Oct. 12, the investigative court for drug cases in Maysan reported, “The southern areas of the governorate are the most active in promoting narcotic drugs, and crystal meth [methamphetamine] makes up 90% of the substances trafficked there.”
On Oct. 29, Zuhair al-Shaalan, governor of the southern city of Diwaniyah, admitted in a televised interview that “the rate of drug abuse has reached 40%.”
