Kurdistan Security Council arrests nearly 700 for drug trafficking since early 2024

Shafaq News/ Statistics from the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC)'s Anti-Narcotics Directorate, on Friday, revealed that nearly 700 people have been arrested for drug trafficking since early 2024.

Statistics showed that over 1,311 people have been arrested for drug use and trafficking since early 2024, including 698 on trafficking charges, with 444 kilograms of drugs seized.

Kurdistan Region’s Efforts to Curb Drug Trade

Authorities in the Kurdistan Region are intensifying efforts to combat drug trafficking and curb its spread, following reports from security officials of rising drug trade, promotion, and use across Iraq, including the Region.

The Kurdish Government (KRG) has significantly ramped up its actions to combat drug trafficking and addiction, calling for cooperation from both Kurdish and international communities to address what it described as an 'endemic' threat.

During a conference on combating drugs and psychotropic substances in Erbil last March, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani emphasized the Government's initiatives to curb the spread of narcotics and urged for collective action to address the underlying causes of drug-related issues.

Barzani pointed to armed groups operating in disputed areas between Iraq and the Region, as well as along the Region's borders with neighboring countries, as hindrances to Kurdish security forces' activities in combating drug trafficking. These groups, he noted, exploit security vulnerabilities and impede anti-drug operations.