KRG launches anti-narcotics drive as drug convictions quadruple in Kurdistan
Shafaq News/ Drug abuse now poses a “national security threat” on par with terrorism, Kurdish officials warned on Thursday, as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) rolled out a wide-reaching anti-narcotics campaign.
Speaking at the campaign’s kickoff event, Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed described rising drug use, especially among youth, as one of the Kurdistan Region’s most urgent challenges. “We’re not just confronting terrorism,” he remarked. “We’re battling a drug crisis that’s tearing society apart.”
Ahmed also linked the surge to organized crime, calling drug trafficking a key revenue stream for criminal groups that undermines enforcement and threatens public health.
Meanwhile, Dindar Zebari, the KRG’s Coordinator for International Advocacy, reported during a panel that drug-related convictions have quadrupled over five years—from 212 in 2019 to more than 1,280 that same year. “By the end of 2024, 1,568 people were imprisoned for drug offenses. That number is approaching 1,700 in 2025.”
