ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces on Thursday said that two drug-trafficking networks in the capital Baghdad were dismantled and over 10,000 pills were seized, state media reported, as Iraqi authorities are tackling a surge in drug usage. “The forces of the Baghdad intelligence and security directorate were able to arrest a network that deals in narcotics, consisting of four suspects,” state media said, citing a defense ministry statement. In a separate operation “five drug dealers were arrested in Baghdad and a quantity of crystal meth and narcotics drugs, in addition to various weapons and ammunition, were seized,” the statement added. A total of 13,000 pills were seized during both operations. Drug dealing and usage in Iraq is rising at an alarming rate, despite strict governmental measures. 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 commitment to combat the growing drug trade and use, as seriously as the country fights terrorism. In 2023, more than 19,000 people were arrested across Iraq on drug-related charges, according to Baghdad, and over 15 tons of psychotropic substances were seized. Iraq’s judiciary has handed down strict sentences for drug-related crime, including 140 death sentences and 500 life imprisonment sentences (20 years in Iraqi law) for smugglers and dealers since the start of 2023, according to data from the interior ministry. On Monday, a Baghdad court handed death sentences for two people charged with dealing narcotics.
