Basra security forces “managed to arrest a person claiming to be a spiritualist after receiving several complaints from citizens,” the National Security Service stated.
After verifying the information and obtaining a warrant, security forces raided the “suspect’s house in the Zubair district” and arrested him for the “traps of seduction and extortion,” according to the statement.
The suspect allegedly “extorted more than 150 women both financially and physically” by “exploiting his victims’ ignorance,” the security agency said.
The accused charged his victims amounts ranging from 500,000 to 1,000,000 Iraqi dinars in exchange for his services, according to the allegation against him.
In September, authorities in Baghdad arrested two individuals accused of practicing sorcery and exploiting and blackmailing over 400 women. They were found in possession of objects used for magic and confessed to their crimes, including extorting over 300 million dinars.
The belief in magic and the supernatural reportedly grew in Iraq after 2003. Many people are vulnerable to fraud artists who make promises of happiness, prosperity, and success in the pursuit of love. Some people have lost large sums of money to the scammers.
In a similar case, the Kurdistan Region’s security forces announced in October 2023 the arrest of two individuals accused of fraud and practicing sorcery.
