Iraq jails Australia-linked drug trafficker for life

Shafaq News- Baghdad

An Iraqi court sentenced one of Iraq's most wanted international fugitives, Kazem Malik Hamad Rabah al-Hajami, to life imprisonment following judicial cooperation between Iraq and Australia, the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation announced on Tuesday.

The Al-Karkh Criminal Court convicted al-Hajami of narcotics trafficking and ordered the confiscation of his movable and immovable assets under Iraqi law. The center accused him of importing large quantities of drugs into Iraq and Australia, smuggling heroin, and maintaining links to transnational organized crime networks allegedly involved in money laundering, murder, kidnapping, extortion, and other violent crimes.

Al-Hajami was arrested following a formal request from Australia in coordination with the Interior Ministry's General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs after the required judicial approvals were obtained.

Since 2023, courts have issued about 380 death sentences, 150 life sentences, and 190 international arrest warrants in drug trafficking cases, while authorities have seized nearly 16.8 tonnes of narcotics, according to the Interior Ministry.

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