ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Police forces in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad detained over 110 beggars of different nationalities, including children, an interior ministry spokesperson announced on Friday.
“In a precise security operation carried out by the Baghdad al-Rusafa police command at several hotels in the Karrada area, 118 suspects of Arab and Asian nationalities involved in begging were arrested, including 41 children,” read a statement from Miqdad Miri, spokesperson for the interior ministry.
Miri also noted that the security forces arrested a five-person prostitution network.
Iraqi security forces in November launched a campaign to detain street beggars, citing threats to public security.
As part of a stronger security plan in Baghdad, the Organized Crime Department detains street beggars as the Iraqi capital has seen a surge in begging, which they consider to have negative repercussions on public security.
Brigadier General Hussein Ali Al-Tamimi, in charge of the Organized Crime Department's Operations Room in Baghdad, told Rudaw in November that they have received information that drug dealers exploit street beggars, capitalizing on their vulnerability in Baghdad and other Iraqi provinces.
Beggars can often be seen on the streets of Iraqi cities, with many known to exploit children to emotionally manipulate people into giving them money.
