Suspected Baghdad drug distributor arrested en route to Sulaymaniyah

TUZ KHURMATU — Security forces on Sunday arrested a suspect wanted on drug charges at a southern checkpoint in Tuz Khurmatu district, as he attempted to travel from Baghdad to Sulaymaniyah, police said.

Mohammed Abdullah, head of media at the Tuz Khurmatu Police, told 964media the man was wanted in connection with narcotics-related offenses and originally from Baghdad’s Zafaraniyah neighborhood.

Abdullah said the arrest followed surveillance and investigation by the anti-narcotics directorate. The suspect, described as a known distributor of narcotics in the capital, is now in custody and will be transferred to Baghdad for judicial proceedings.

The arrest comes amid an ongoing nationwide crackdown on drug trafficking and use. Iraq’s General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs reported in April that 3,006 individuals had been arrested during the first quarter of 2025, with courts sentencing 973 people for drug offenses in that period.

Authorities arrested more than 19,000 people for drug-related crimes in 2023, seizing over 15 tons of narcotics. Between January and August 2024, Iraqi courts issued 140 death sentences and 500 life terms in connection with drug cases.