14 arrested, four drug networks broken in Iraqi security crackdown

Shafaq News- Basra

Iraqi forces on Saturday dismantled four drug trafficking networks and arrested 14 suspects in the southern province of Basra, including a wanted suspect accused in multiple criminal cases involving murder, armed robbery, and narcotics trafficking.

The General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances stated that two anti-narcotics officers were injured during one of the operations while confronting members of the networks.

Drug trafficking has surged across Iraq in recent years, with the Interior Ministry warning that the country is increasingly becoming both a consumer market and transit corridor for regional smuggling networks. Basra, home to Iraq's main Gulf ports, has repeatedly featured in anti-drug operations targeting trafficking routes and cross-border networks.

Earlier this month, Iraq’s Border Forces Command announced the interception of two balloon-based smuggling attempts involving around 325,000 narcotic pills detected by thermal cameras before reaching their targets. Brig. Gen. Abbas Al-Bahadli, director of relations and media at the General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, has said Iraqi authorities seized more than 1.697 tons of narcotics in 2026 so far, while courts issued 42 death sentences and 357 life imprisonment rulings against convicted traffickers.

Read more: The Smuggler's Almanac: Iraq's war against narco-innovation