Life sentence for man caught with 18,000 narcotic pills in Anbar

ANBAR — The Anbar Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced a man to life in prison for drug trafficking after authorities found 18,000 narcotic pills in his possession.

According to a statement from the judiciary’s media office, “18,000 narcotic pills of amphetamine were seized in the possession of the convicted person, intended for trafficking and sale among users.”

Iraq has faced growing challenges from narcotics trafficking in recent years, evolving from a transit corridor into both a consumer market and a redistribution hub.

Courts have handed down some of the country’s toughest penalties in high-level trafficking cases. Between January and August 2024, judges issued 140 death sentences and 500 life sentences in narcotics cases.

In the first quarter of 2025, authorities reported 3,006 arrests related to drug offenses, while nationwide seizures reached 250 kilograms of narcotics in September alone.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry said Saturday that anti-narcotics authorities have seized more than half a ton of drugs and arrested over 1,600 suspects since the beginning of the year, as part of operations targeting local and international trafficking networks.