Shafaq News- Baghdad

Security forces dismantled an international drug-trafficking network in the country’s first anti-narcotics operation conducted deep inside Iraqi territorial waters, the Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

The 16-hour mission began at Umm Qasr Naval Base after several days of surveillance near the maritime border with a neighboring country, resulting in the arrest of three suspects, including a foreign national, and the seizure of 90 kilograms of hashish (concentrated cannabis resin) and two boats.

Iraqi authorities confiscated 16.8 tons of narcotics between 2023 and July 2026, while courts issued 380 death sentences, 150 life terms, and 190 international arrest warrants in trafficking cases. During the first half of this year alone, security agencies broke up 378 networks, including 59 operating internationally, and recovered more than 1,977 kilograms of drugs.

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