ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi security forces arrested more than 1,400 people on drug-related charges across the country during the month of February “including international dealers,” the interior ministry reported on Monday.
A total of 1,431 suspects of dealing and using narcotics were arrested, including 16 Iraqis and six foreigners suspected of being major international traffickers, according to a statement published on Interior Minister Abdul-Amir al-Shammari’s office.
Additionally, around 390 kilograms of narcotic substances and nine tons of psychotropic substances were confiscated in the same month.
The rate of drug addicts and dealers has been on an alarming rise in Iraq in recent years, despite strict measures taken by the Iraqi government to curb the phenomenon.
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 growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.
The interior ministers of Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon held a quadrilateral meeting in Amman in mid-February, and agreed to establish a joint communications cell to keep up cooperation on addressing the alarming rise of narcotics in their countries.
More than 19,000 people were arrested across Iraq in 2023 on drug-related charges and over 15 tons psychotropic substances were seized during that year.
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