Iraqi authorities seize 2,500 credit cards and arrest 45 suspects in Najaf

NAJAF, July 21 — Iraqi authorities seized 2,500 credit cards and arrested 45 suspects involved in a currency exchange scheme across the country, an Interior Ministry official announced on July 21.

Director of Anti-Organized Crime Operations, Col. Hussein Al-Tamimi said the crime ring operated in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Basra, and Najaf, according to a report by the Iraqi News Agency.

The confiscated credit cards will be handed over to the Central Bank of Iraq, he added.

Nearly half of the seized cards (1,250) and detainees (23) were caught in Najaf governorate.