In a rare case of intelligence cooperation between Iraq and Lebanon, one of Lebanon's largest factories for making Captagon, a highly addictive type of amphetamine, has been discovered and destroyed, the Interior Ministry in Baghdad announced.
A month ago, the Lebanese army reported the discovery of a drug factory in the village of Jamune in the eastern Bekaa Valley, and that there were huge quantities of the narcotic there.
The Iraqi ministry announced tonight that the Lebanese operation in Jamune in mid-July was carried out based on Iraqi intelligence information about the factory.
A senior Lebanese security official, who requested anonymity, said it was unclear why Iraqi authorities issued the statement today.
Most of the world's production of Captagon comes from Syria, but the drug is also produced in Lebanon.
Western governments estimate that the sale of Captagon generated billions of dollars in revenue for former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his associates and allies. The former government in Damascus denied these allegations.
Since Assad's government fell in an assault by rebel fighters on Damascus in December last year, there has been a stronger fight against drug production in Lebanon and Syria.
The police ministers of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq met in the Jordanian capital in February to discuss the fight against drug trafficking. It was agreed to establish a special telecommunications link to exchange information.
Smugglers are using Jordan as a corridor to transport Captagon pills from Syria to oil-rich Gulf Arab countries.
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