Iraqi forces arrest four in international Lyrica trafficking operation

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraqi authorities have dismantled an international network involved in trafficking the controlled drug Lyrica and arrested four suspects, including two pharmacists and a foreign national, the General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs announced on Sunday.

The operation began after authorities lured a key suspect from outside Iraq to Baghdad, where security forces arrested him while allegedly supplying Lyrica pills to pharmacies in the capital. It resulted in the seizure of more than 33,000 pills, including 29,000 Lyrica tablets and around 4,000 other psychotropic substances.

Yesterday, Iraqi forces dismantled four drug-trafficking networks in Basra and arrested 14 suspects, including a fugitive wanted in multiple cases involving murder, armed robbery, and narcotics offenses, while two anti-narcotics officers were wounded during the operation.

Drug trafficking has expanded across Iraq in recent years, with the Interior Ministry warning that the country is increasingly becoming both a consumer market and a transit route for regional smuggling operations. Brig. Gen. Abbas Al-Bahadli previously revealed that Iraqi authorities had seized more than 1.697 tons of narcotics in 2026, while courts issued 42 death sentences and 357 life imprisonment rulings against convicted traffickers.

Read more: Iraq fights back against drug flood engulfing Middle East