Shafaq News- Baghdad (Updated at 17:22)

Iraqi security forces arrested 18 drug suspects in separate operations in Baghdad, Kirkuk, and Basra on Friday, seizing narcotics including 1.25 kilograms of crystal meth.

The Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) said its tactical team in Kirkuk, working with the correctional intelligence center, arrested two suspected drug dealers outside the facility and seized 1.25 kilograms of crystal meth and drug paraphernalia.

In Basra, the INSS said statements from several detainees led investigators to identify a suspected drug dealer accused of smuggling narcotics into a prison. Security forces arrested him after allegedly catching him in the act and referred him to judicial authorities.

Earlier today, the Defense Ministry announced that security forces had arrested 15 suspected drug dealers and distributors and seized narcotics during surprise checkpoint operations across Baghdad.

According to Iraq's Interior Ministry, authorities seized 1,977 kilograms of narcotics and convicted 3,553 suspects in drug-related cases during the first half of 2026. Among them, 58 received death sentences and 236 were sentenced to life imprisonment, while the ministry carried out 17 cross-border anti-drug operations in coordination with neighboring and regional countries.