Shafaq News/ On Thursday, the General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs announced that the Iraqi court has sentenced 30 individuals to death or life imprisonment for drug trafficking.

The Directorate stated that “13 drug traffickers received death sentences and 17 were sentenced to life imprisonment.”

In addition, the Ministry announced sentences “for over 7,000 convicts in 2023 for drug trafficking and abuse, including life imprisonment, the death penalty, and other penalties.”

For decades, Iraq was a transit route for drugs from Afghanistan and Iran to Europe and the Gulf states. Since the 2003 overthrow of Saddam Hussein by US-led forces, the country has become a major drug consumer amid ongoing conflict and instability.