Intelligence raids in Iraq’s Baghdad net 15 drug traffickers
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Iraq’s Military Intelligence Directorate on Tuesday arrested 15 drug dealers and traffickers during joint security operations in the capital, Baghdad.
In a statement, the directorate said the suspects were apprehended across several areas during the week, and the security forces seized various narcotic substances in their possession.
On December 22, the Iraqi and Syrian Interior Ministries announced the dismantling of an international drug trafficking network inside Syrian territory, resulting in the arrest of four internationally wanted suspects and the seizure of 200,000 Captagon pills.
In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances reported 3,006 arrests and 973 judicial convictions. Authorities seized over 2.166 tons of illicit substances, including 1.538 tons obtained under judicial orders from the Central Investigative Court in Al-Rusafa.
Iraq’s anti-narcotics campaign has intensified in recent years, with authorities dismantling hundreds of trafficking networks, arresting tens of thousands of suspects, and seizing massive quantities of drugs as synthetic substances spread rapidly among younger age groups.
Read more: Iraq fights back against synthetic drug flood engulfing the Middle East
