Iraqi Intelligence Arrests 10 Drug Traffickers in Five Governorates

Shafaq News/ The General Directorate of Intelligence and Security, under the Iraqi Defense Ministry, announced on Wednesday the arrest of 10 drug traffickers and smugglers in five governorates.

According to a statement, the Directorate explained that “precise information from the intelligence services enabled the intelligence teams to arrest ten drug and narcotics traffickers on the basis of arrest warrants issued against them by the competent courts.”

She said that “the arrests took place in Baghdad, Babil, Al-Diwaniyah, Muthanna and Diyala, where the people were found in possession of various narcotics and drugs.”

The suspects were handed over to the relevant authorities.

Last May, Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier Miqdad Miri described drug trafficking as a “critical threat” to Iraq's national security, vowing that authorities would maintain “strong pressure” on drug networks.

The drug problem in Iraq has reached critical proportions. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the country has become a major transit route for illegal drugs.

Iraq has over 3,637 kilometers of land borders with Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey. Its strategic location also makes it a transit channel for drug trafficking between Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula and Europe.

In a 2024 UNODC report titled: Drug Trafficking Dynamics in Iraq and the Middle East: Trends and Responses, Iraq and neighbouring countries noted that Iraq risks becoming an increasingly important node in the drug trafficking ecosystem that extends across the Near and Middle East.

“In Iraq, drug trafficking takes place along three main internal corridors, particularly in the northern, central and southern regions of the country,” the report highlights.

Iraq established its first law and commission on drugs in 2017 and launched a National Strategy on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (2023-2025) in 2023. In addition, Iraq hosted the first regional event on the issue in 2023 to accelerate collaboration and coordinate drug detection and disruption efforts.

In December 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani made a controversial statement urging the country's president to ratify all death sentences for convicted drug traffickers.

He said this was necessary to “enforce the law and deter anyone who dares to threaten the security of the country and its people.”