Shafaq News/ On Thursday, an Iraqi Ministry of Defense member was arrested for drug trafficking in the Mahdia area in Dora, south of Baghdad, as reported by a security source.

The source informed Shafaq News Agency that “the accused, an associate at the Ministry of Defense, was arrested with 500 grams of a crystal-like substance, a Kalashnikov weapon, and cash totaling over 46 million Iraqi dinars (approximately $36,000) along with 4,600 US dollars.”

In a 2024 report by the UNODC titled: Drug Trafficking Dynamics Across Iraq and the Middle East: Trends and Responses, Iraq and neighboring countries have identified Iraq as a potential growing hub in the drug trafficking network across the Near and Middle East.

"Within Iraq, drugs are trafficked along three key internal corridors, including in the north, central, and southern regions of the country." The report pointed out.