Iraqi Security Forces Arrest Hundreds in Nationwide Drug Raids

The Iraqi Interior Ministry reported on Saturday that in the last week, security forces have arrested 315 drug dealers and users across the country.

The ministry’s intelligence agency disclosed in a statement that these arrests were accompanied by the seizure of 22 kg of crystal methamphetamine in Baghdad and other provinces during the weeklong operations. The raids also resulted in the arrest of 83 suspected terrorists and the confiscation of 102 weapons, six crude oil smuggling sites, and 21 vehicles.

The week of arrests follows a series of raids conducted across Iraq from November 2022 to May 2023, in which 8,676 drug dealers and users were arrested. Additionally, security forces seized over 406,000 kg of various drugs, including 9.27 million Captagon pills, along with 456 weapons, 118 hand grenades, and 808 vehicles.

Iraq has struggled to combat the drug threat for the past two decades due to the chaos and conflicts since the US invasion in 2003. In May, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stressed that battling the drug trade is as crucial as combating terrorism, as drug dealing is a primary source of terrorist funding.