Iraq seizes smuggled medical shipment at Kirkuk customs

Shafaq News- Kirkuk

The Federal Integrity Commission announced Saturday that it blocked an attempt to move a shipment of imported medical supplies and detained two suspects at the Darman customs point on the road linking Kirkuk and Erbil provinces.

A team from the commission's Kirkuk investigation directorate carried out the operation in coordination with customs police intelligence after receiving information that data on imported goods had been altered to register them as locally produced, allowing the shipment to evade customs duties. 

The operation resulted in the detention of the driver and a customs employee, and the seizure of the vehicle, which was carrying 8.5 tons of imported medical materials. The commission said the goods fall under a category barred from import.

According to Shafaq sources, the case is part of the wider anti-corruption campaign led by the Iraqi government and the Supreme Judicial Council, which has produced arrests of ministry officials, directors general, and members of parliament in recent weeks.

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