Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq on Wednesday dismantled two criminal networks linked to drug trafficking and the exploitation of minors, in coordinated operations that stretched across multiple provinces and involved regional cooperation.

According to Ziad Al-Qaisi, head of the Iraqi Directorate of Narcotics Affairs media office, security forces working alongside Syrian authorities disrupted an international drug network in possession of one million captagon pills. The group was arrested through three coordinated operations before being referred to the judiciary for legal proceedings.

Read more: 3-year drug crackdown: Iraq busts 230 networks

Kirkuk Police dismantled a human trafficking ring accused of luring and abducting underage girls and boys, then transferring them to the Kurdistan Region in exchange for money.

Speaking to Shafaq News, Police Chief Fattah Mahmoud Al-Khafaji noted that suspicions arose after a checkpoint under Kirkuk police command intercepted a man traveling with four children —two girls and two boys. A review of identification documents showed no family ties between the man and the children, prompting further investigation. Al-Khafaji further revealed that the suspect admitted during questioning to involvement in several networks engaged in luring and abducting minors, as well as selling them for financial gain.

In its 2025 report, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that 221,000 people in Iraq are affected by what it describes as “modern slavery,” with women, children, minorities and displaced families among the most vulnerable. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that adult women account for more than half of all victims, while girls represent nearly one-fifth. Official figures released last December recorded 2,300 victims over the past three years, during which authorities dismantled more than 1,800 networks and individuals involved in trafficking and forced begging.