ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s southeastern Maysan province narcotics directorate arrested a drug trafficking “mastermind” known as "Abu Shaikha" on Tuesday, amid an ongoing anti-narcotics campaign by the Iraqi Interior Ministry.
“Maysan Governorate Narcotics Affairs Directorate successfully arrested a highly important, top-priority target,” the interior ministry posted on Facebook, adding that “the accused is wanted by the judiciary in over 15 cases related to drug trafficking.”
The suspect is “considered the mastermind behind the management of networks responsible for smuggling, trafficking, and distributing narcotics across several governorates,” the ministry noted.
This comes amid the Iraqi National Security Service’s (INSS) announcement in mid-June that it “executed a targeted security operation resulting in the deaths of two of the most dangerous drug dealers in the al-Uzair area of Maysan province.”
It identified “the primary dealer of crystal meth in Iraq” under the nickname Abu Futaim, considered one of the largest distributors of illicit drugs across all governorates as part of its ongoing efforts to pursue organized crime rings and drug traffickers.
The Iraqi interior ministry further stated that “all of his [the suspect's] brothers have been previously convicted on charges of trafficking these illicit substances.”
The Maysan Narcotics Affairs Directorate and Rapid Response Forces arrested the suspect and his brother in the al-Uzair district. Authorities seized narcotics and weapons during the operation.
Iraq remains both a destination and a transit route for narcotics, notorious for serving as a “conduit” for drug flow between Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Europe, as well as Captagon trafficking from Syria and rising domestic consumption, according to a report by the United Nations Office in 2024 on drug trafficking dynamics across Iraq and the Middle East.
Iraq’s interior ministry announced in late April that authorities have dismantled more than 1,500 drug trafficking networks since 2023, including several operating across international borders.
Ministry spokesperson Abbas al-Bahadli said the three-year campaign resulted in 349 death sentences and 1,325 life sentences for convicted traffickers.
According to the ministry, 1,538 networks were dismantled during this period, including 234 transnational groups. Security forces have carried out 61 operations abroad as part of the crackdown.
