Anbar court gives life sentence in major drug trafficking case

ANBAR — An Anbar Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced a man to life in prison after convicting him of drug trafficking and possession of 60,000 methamphetamine pills and other narcotics, the judiciary said.

In a statement, the judiciary’s media office said the ruling was issued under Article 28, Paragraph 1 of Iraq’s Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017.

Iraqi authorities arrested 3,006 people on drug charges in the first quarter of 2025, and courts issued 973 sentences. In 2023, security forces reported more than 19,000 arrests, the seizure of 15 tons of narcotics, and the deaths of at least 17 suspects in clashes with police.

Between January and August 2024, courts handed down 140 death sentences and 500 life sentences in drug-related cases.

The Interior Ministry said in late July that Iraq has also issued 81 international arrest warrants for drug traffickers and smugglers as part of its widening crackdown on narcotics crimes.