Shafaq News– Baghdad

Iraqi authorities arrested several high-profile suspects linked to organized criminal networks with direct influence in Sweden, following a formal request by the Swedish government, the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation announced on Thursday.

According to a statement, police arrested Ali Shihab Ahmed, responsible for transport and strategic support; Jalal Duraid Azzouz, the gang’s deputy leader; Fadi Duraid Jalal, responsible for district-level operations; along with Ahmed Alaa Fawzi and Al-Baraa bin Salah Borqaa.

The head of the center, Ali Hussein Jafat, noted that international cooperation in the case remains active, adding that the suspects, affiliated with the so-called Kurdish Fox gang, are among the most wanted by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol).

Earlier this week, Iraq’s National Intelligence Service said that it had arrested senior figures from the Foxtrot criminal network, affiliated with the same crime group, following coordinated security operations carried out across several Iraqi provinces.

The gang, led by Rawa Majid, born in 1986 in Iran to Kurdish parents, is accused of smuggling drugs into Sweden, carrying out armed violence, and recruiting minors for assassination operations.