ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's interior ministry announced on Saturday that 47 death sentences and 207 life sentences have been handed down to drug smugglers during the first half of 2026.
"The decisions of the Iraqi judiciary have been courageous regarding this matter,” Abbas al-Bahadli, spokesperson for the ministry's anti-drug directorate, told Rudaw, adding that the directorate works as a "unified team" with the Iraqi judiciary to "identify, curtail, and dismantle" drug networks.
The Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017 serves as Iraq's primary legislative framework to combat drug trafficking. The law imposes strict penalties, ranging from imprisonment for drug users to the death penalty for traffickers and smugglers.
Between 2023 and June 2026, the Iraqi judiciary issued 362 death sentences and 1,420 life sentences, Bahadli said.
A 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) described Iraq as a "conduit" for drug smuggling, serving both as a destination and transit route for narcotics between Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Europe. The country has also become a hub for Captagon pills, which are predominantly produced in Syria.
Earlier in April, Bahadli said authorities had dismantled 1,538 drug networks, including 234 transnational groups, over the past three years.
Iraqi authorities have also confiscated more than 1.5 tons of narcotics and secured nearly 2,500 convictions in drug-related cases during the first five months of 2026.
Operations led by the anti-narcotics directorate expanded international coordination, establishing 36 liaison channels with foreign counterparts to strengthen intelligence sharing and field cooperation. Authorities also issued 151 international arrest warrants for suspects wanted by the judiciary.
On Friday, the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) announced the killing of two high-profile drug traffickers in southwestern Maysan province.
The INSS identified the main suspect as Abu Futaim, describing him as the "primary dealer of crystal meth in Iraq."
Mushtaq Ramadhan contributed to this article.
