BAGHDAD — A Nov. 23 report by specialized judges revealed the establishment of plants to produce Krystal — the local name of crystal methamphetamine or crystal meth. The findings suggest that Iraq is changing from a corridor for drugs between neighboring countries into a producer of narcotics, taking advantage of poor regulatory procedures on the porous border.
This explains the increased arrests of drug dealers and users, most recently on Dec. 20, when the Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of a group of six people who were trafficking narcotics in a horse stable in the Abu Ghraib area, west of Baghdad.

A source in the national security apparatus confirmed Nov. 19 the presence of plants used to produce drugs, such as crystal meth, in Basra and Maysan provinces in the south. The people running the plants mix narcotic chemicals that are smuggled from abroad with other materials. The source said that this has turned Iraq into a producing country of narcotics.

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