ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces have arrested the “largest” drug-trafficking network in the capital Baghdad, the judiciary announced on Saturday. Around 221 kilograms of captagon pills were also seized.
Baghdad’s Karkh investigative court announced that the network of 10 people, including foreign nationals, was “overthrown” on a judicial order carried out by the district’s narcotic affairs directorate.
There has been an alarming rise in drug dealing and use in Iraq in recent years, despite strict measures taken by the government to curb the trade.
Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant that has been spreading across the Middle East, with Syria as the main supplier and Saudi Arabia as the primary consumer.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat drugs with the same determination as it fights terrorism.
In 2023, more than 19,000 people were arrested across Iraq on drug-related charges and over 15 tons of psychotropic substances were seized.
Iraq’s judiciary has handed down strict sentences for drug-related offenses, including 140 death sentences and 500 life imprisonment (20 years in Iraqi law) sentences for smugglers and dealers since the start of 2023, according to official data from the interior ministry.
Baghdad’s Karkh investigative court announced that the network of 10 people, including foreign nationals, was “overthrown” on a judicial order carried out by the district’s narcotic affairs directorate.
There has been an alarming rise in drug dealing and use in Iraq in recent years, despite strict measures taken by the government to curb the trade.
Captagon is an amphetamine-type stimulant that has been spreading across the Middle East, with Syria as the main supplier and Saudi Arabia as the primary consumer.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s commitment to combat drugs with the same determination as it fights terrorism.
In 2023, more than 19,000 people were arrested across Iraq on drug-related charges and over 15 tons of psychotropic substances were seized.
Iraq’s judiciary has handed down strict sentences for drug-related offenses, including 140 death sentences and 500 life imprisonment (20 years in Iraqi law) sentences for smugglers and dealers since the start of 2023, according to official data from the interior ministry.
