Drug arrests surge in Sulaymaniyah, Halabja

ERBIL — The Kurdistan Region Security Agency has reported a significant uptick in drug trafficking and usage within the Sulaymaniyah and Halabja provinces, leading to the arrest of 638 individuals this year.

The agency, which covers the governorates of Sulaymaniyah and Halabja, conducted these operations in areas that are increasingly being used as transit points for drug delivery throughout Iraq and beyond.

Following a court order, approximately 200 kilograms of previously seized narcotics were scientifically destroyed at the agency’s Sulaymaniyah directorate on Thursday.

“We can say that this year, drug trafficking and usage in Sulaymaniyah and Halabja Provinces have increased, with these areas primarily being used as transit points to deliver drugs to other parts of Iraq and beyond,” Salam Abdulkhaliq, the spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Security agency, told 964Media. He further highlighted the breakdown of the arrests: “Out of the 638 arrests this year, 250 were users, while the remaining individuals were involved in trafficking and dealing drugs.”

Abdulkhaliq emphasized the collaborative efforts to tackle this escalating problem. “We have strong cooperation with other Iraqi agencies to carry out coordinated operations aimed at seizing drugs and curbing their trafficking and usage,” he said.

The agency also released detailed statistics for the period from Nov. 24, 2023, to July 12, 2024, which include the seizure of 952 kilograms of various drugs. The breakdown includes 5 kg of heroin, 89 kg of hashish, 3 kg of marijuana, 28 kg of opium, 205 kg of crystal meth, 51 kg of a crystal and chemical mixture, 365 kg of Captagon pills totaling 2.2 million tablets, 206 kg of Captagon pills wrapped in foam totaling 1.2 million tablets, and 28,944 tablets of Tramadol.

In response to the growing drug crisis, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior has intensified its legal measures against drug dealers. “The efforts to combat drug trafficking, which threatens community security, have been substantial,” Muqdad Miri, the ministry’s spokesperson, told Al-Sabah. Since the beginning of the year, the ministry has issued 140 death sentences and 500 life sentences to those involved in the drug trade.

Khaled Al-Mahna, the ministry’s director of communications and media, explained the broader context of Iraq’s drug problems, noting that Iraq has traditionally been a transit route for drugs originating from Iran and Pakistan and destined for Gulf states. The country has also increasingly become a market for narcotics such as crystal meth from Afghanistan and Iran, and Captagon pills from Syria.