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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Police in Baghdad raided the neighborhoods of Bataween and Saadon over the weekend, arresting over 200 on charges including human trafficking and possession of drugs.
In less than 24 hours, 207 people were arrested on various charges, including human trafficking, smuggling of narcotics, possession of unlicensed arms, and lack of residence permits. Most of the arrests were made inside hotels, according to Baghdad’s Rusafa police commander Shaalan Ali.
Ali added that the crackdown campaign will continue.
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.
"We began arresting most of those who had violated residence regulations, numbering 80," Zafir Mohammadawi, commander of Rusafa’s operations command, told Rudaw's Ziyad Ismael.
"A number of drug smugglers were also apprehended. We also arrested those who had acted against health regulations including a lack of work permits at medicine stores and pharmacies,” he added.
According to data from Iraq’s interior ministry, a total of 3,575 suspects have been arrested since the beginning of 2024 on charges of drug usage and smuggling narcotics.
“The operations will continue. Thankfully, the outcome was good and they will yield better results,” Mohammadawi added.
In late February, the interior ministers of Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon announced they would establish a “joint communications cell” aimed at combating drug trafficking in the region, particularly that of captagon, an amphetamine-type stimulant.
Captagon is frequently seized in Anbar province due to its proximity to the border with Syria - the main regional supplier of the narcotic.
Over 600 suspects were arrested in Anbar over drug-related charges in 2023, according to a director of the province’s drug directorate.
Iraqi 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 the growing drug trade and use as seriously as the country fights terrorism.
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