Six Daraman customs employees arrested on extortion allegations

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Federal Commission of Integrity announced Tuesday the arrest of six employees at the Daraman customs crossing between Kirkuk and Erbil, on allegations they deliberately delayed customs transactions to extort money from citizens.

The commission said investigators from its Kirkuk office carried out the operation with the National Security Service under a judicial warrant. It alleged the six employees held up legally compliant customs transactions unless citizens paid them, exploiting their positions in what it described as extortion. The detainees were referred to an investigative judge.

The Daraman crossing is one of four internal customs offices the federal government established in February along the boundary between federal Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Director General Thamer Qassim said at the time that the offices would audit documents, ensure federal tariffs were applied and collect any tariff difference.

The crossing has been the focus of several recent anti-corruption operations. Earlier this month, the commission said it seized an imported shipment of medical supplies at Daraman after investigators alleged customs data had been altered to classify the goods as locally produced to evade duties, detaining a customs employee and a truck driver in that case.

The arrests come as Iraqi authorities expand a broader anti-corruption campaign following the detention of former Deputy Oil Minister for Refining Affairs Adnan al-Jumaili. Investigators say the case has widened to include dozens of people identified during interviews with Jumaili, and it led to the June 28 operation, a series of coordinated raids inside Baghdad’s Green Zone and other governorates targeting current and former officials and members of parliament.