ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi court has issued a life sentence to a convicted international drug trafficker, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) announced on Tuesday in a judicial cooperation with Australia.
"The convicted man is considered one of the most wanted individuals by the Iraqi and international judiciaries," the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation said, adding that he was responsible for importing large quantities of narcotics into Iraq and Australia, including heroin.
Australian media identified the convicted man as Kazem Hamad, also known as Kadhim Malik Hamad Rabah al-Hajami, a former Melbourne-based organized crime figure who was deported to Iraq in 2023.
The case highlights growing judicial and law enforcement cooperation between Iraq and foreign partners against transnational organized crime, as authorities increasingly coordinate investigations, intelligence sharing, and arrests targeting international drug trafficking and money laundering networks.
According to SJC, Hajami was also linked to organized cross-border criminal operations such as drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, kidnapping, and extortion.
Australian authorities have previously linked Hamad to Melbourne's so-called "tobacco wars" and described him as a person of interest in investigations into organized crime-related arson attacks targeting tobacco shops in the state of Victoria.
Hajami was arrested in Iraq in January after Australian Federal Police shared intelligence with Iraqi authorities, according to Australian officials and previous statements from Iraq's National Center for International Judicial Cooperation.
The council said Hajami was arrested earlier this year in January following a formal request from Australia.
The operation was coordinated by Iraq's National Center for International Judicial Cooperation and the Interior Ministry's Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs after obtaining the necessary judicial approvals. The ruling was then issued by Baghdad's Karkh Criminal Court.
The judicial council said it would continue strengthening international judicial cooperation and exchanging information with partner countries to pursue fugitives, dismantle transnational organized crime networks, and reinforce the rule of law.
