Iraq NSA arrests 300 in anti-corruption raid, seizes expired goods

Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, Iraq's National Security Agency (NSA) announced the arrest of nearly 300 individuals accused of economic crimes.

The NSA stated, “The Agency's units conducted preemptive operations that led to the arrest of 287 people on economic crime charges, following judicial approvals,” affirming that “inspections of warehouses and markets, which accompanied these arrests to ensure food security, allowed officials to confiscate more than 2,000 tons of expired food products in collaboration with health teams.”

Additionally, the NSA confirmed, “Units seized over 750,000 expired medicine boxes that did not comply with Ministry of Health regulations and discovered 85 illegal connections to the main water network.”

“The operation also thwarted the smuggling of approximately 89,000 liters of petroleum products and resulted in the seizure of 13 vehicles loaded with smuggled goods,” it pointed out.

“All suspects and seized items have been referred to the appropriate authorities for further legal action.”

From 2013 to 2023, the Corruption Perceptions Index indicated that the Iraqi public sector, while seriously corrupt, showed improvement, with its score rising from 16 to 23 over the eleven years and ranking 154th out of 180 countries in 2023.