Baghdad court sentences eight to death over drug trafficking

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Central Criminal Court in Baghdad on Sunday issued death sentences against eight convicted defendants after finding them guilty of drug trafficking, the Supreme Judicial Council said.

In a statement, the council said “the Central Criminal Court issued death sentences against eight convicted defendants for the crime of trafficking in narcotic substances.”

It said the defendants were found in possession of “600,000 narcotic pills of amphetamine and caffeine,” adding that the rulings were issued under Article 27/First of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017, in accordance with the participation provisions of Articles 47, 48 and 49 of the Penal Code.

The court said the sentences were issued under the provisions of the applicable law governing narcotics and psychotropic substances.

Iraqi courts have continued issuing harsh sentences in drug trafficking cases in recent months. In December 2025, criminal courts in Basra and Anbar handed down death and life sentences in separate cases involving large quantities of methamphetamine, tramadol, hashish and tens of thousands of narcotic pills intended for distribution. Courts said the rulings were issued under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017.

In November and October 2025, courts in Baghdad and Salah al-Din governorate sentenced multiple defendants to death or life imprisonment after authorities seized large amounts of Captagon, hashish, methamphetamine, opium and heroin. In several cases, courts said the drugs were intended for sale and trafficking, and the sentences followed investigations by security forces and anti-narcotics units.

Earlier in 2025, criminal courts in Anbar and Baghdad issued life sentences in a series of trafficking cases involving thousands of Captagon and methamphetamine pills. In March 2025, Iraq’s National Security Service announced the arrest of a major drug trafficker in Baghdad who was later sentenced to death after authorities seized large quantities of LSD, cocaine, marijuana and narcotic pills.