The General Directorate of Narcotics Affairs announced yesterday , Tuesday, that it had carried out the fourth major deterrent operation in the history of Iraq, targeting international drug trafficking networks .
The Directorate explained that “the security intelligence operation was carried out during the year 2024 within a series of specific strategic objectives successfully, resulting in the arrest of (116) international drug dealers and the seizure of (3) tons and (150) kilograms of various narcotic substances .”
The statement indicated that “(82) international drug traffickers were sentenced to death .”
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior recently announced the dismantling of 600 international and local drug trafficking networks, and referring their members to the judiciary to receive their just punishment .
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced the issuance of rulings against more than 7,000 convicts for crimes related to drug trafficking, use and promotion in 2023, distributed between life imprisonment, death penalty and other sentences .
For decades, Iraq has been seen as a transit route for drugs from Afghanistan and Iran to Europe and the Gulf states .
However, the country has become a major consumer of various types of drugs since the overthrow of the former Iraqi regime in 2003 by international forces led by the United States, as the country is currently plagued by conflicts and unstable security and economic conditions.
