“International bodies consider Iraq a regional leader in combating drugs through operations targeting trafficking networks and their top leaders,” Ziyad Khalaf, head of public relations and media at the interior ministry’s narcotics and psychotropic substances directorate, told state media.
He referred to Iraqi intelligence cooperation in a recent bust of one of the largest Captagon manufacturing facilities in the Middle East in eastern Lebanon, stressing that intelligence forces “carry out specialized operations outside Iraqi territory” as well.
According to Khalaf, Iraqi authorities have seized 13 tons of narcotic substances since 2023, “and strict judicial rulings, including death sentences, have helped deter major dealers,” with more than 270 death sentences issued in comparison to five in the previous ten years.
In recent years, Iraqi authorities have stepped up their fight against drug trafficking. The country, once mostly a transit route, has increasingly become a destination for narcotics - prompting alarm among officials and the public.
On Tuesday, the interior ministry announced that Iraq placed third among 138 countries in the World Police Summit (WPS) rankings for combating drugs, behind India and Montenegro, respectively.
Khalaf said that people between the ages of 15 and 35 - which represent 60 percent of the population - are the “target group” for drug trafficking and abuse.
“The government has provided more than 15 rehabilitation centers for addicts with a capacity of more than 5,000 beds,” he added.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani in July 2023 ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s stated commitment to combat the growing drug trade and use, as seriously as the country fights terrorism.
