Security personnel inspect boxes of alcoholic beverages stacked inside a truck during a seizure operation, as several officers look on.
Diyala police seize four trucks loaded with alcohol prepared for smuggling
DIYALA — Diyala police said Monday they seized four trucks loaded with alcoholic beverages prepared for smuggling and detained those involved in the operation.
Police said units from the Third Diyala Emergency Regiment, acting under the supervision of Diyala Police Commander Lt. Gen. Mohammed Kazem Atiya, stopped the trucks after “precise monitoring of intelligence information and a rapid response by security units.” Legal procedures were taken against the drivers and others connected to the shipment.
Atiya said police “continue to pursue smugglers and illegal traders to prevent the entry of materials that violate the law, protect the governorate’s economy, and reinforce security and stability.”
Smuggling cases involving alcoholic beverages are frequently reported across Iraqi governorates. On Aug. 9, 2025, Kirkuk Police Command said it seized seven trucks carrying smuggled goods, along with a warehouse storing alcoholic beverages, on the outskirts of the city. Police said the shipments were moved through unpaved routes to evade inspection.
In February, the General Authority of Customs announced that it intercepted a shipment of alcoholic beverages hidden in a Scania truck in Nineveh, in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service and local security units.
These operations follow the enforcement of a 2016 law banning the import, production and sale of alcoholic beverages, a measure criticized by minority communities — including Christians and Yazidis — with longstanding ties to Iraq’s liquor trade. The ban does not apply to the Kurdistan Region.