ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Inside a specialized exhibition hall at a Kurdistan Regional Security Agency (Asayish) facility in Sulaimani, confiscated contraband sits on display tables. To an untrained observer, the items appear ordinary: woven floor carpets, decorative candles, standard cooking oil bottles, and stackable textbooks used by local institute students.
However, detailed inspection by forensic specialists reveals the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by illicit drug networks operating in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Security officials demonstrated how high-purity narcotics are chemically dissolved and bonded directly into carpet fibers - containing nearly two kilograms of drugs per carpet - to be extracted through boiling later. In other instances, illicit substances were molded into candles, hidden inside olive oil containers, or concealed within the covers of Latin-script educational textbooks to bypass border checkpoints.
The exhibit, featured on Rudaw Media Network's program With Ranj (Lagal Ranj, in Kurdish) hosted by Ranj Sangawi, highlights an escalating security and public health crisis: the spread of drug trafficking and addiction among youth in Erbil and Sulaimani.
Regional authorities, including the Anti-Narcotics Directorate and the Asayish, are adapting their response. Officials emphasize that tackling the crisis requires looking beyond traditional law enforcement to address cross-border smuggling syndicates, predatory street dealing, and systemic gaps in public rehabilitation infrastructure.
Patterns of recruitment, student exploitation
Direct testimonies from individuals held in custody - speaking anonymously under security guidelines - illustrate how organized dealing networks systematically target young adults across varying socio-economic backgrounds.
One female institute student from Sulaimani recounted how she was introduced to synthetic drugs at nineteen while studying at a local cafe near her campus.
"I was an honor student from a well-off family, and my father paid for my private education," she stated during an interview conducted inside the security complex. "It started when I met a group of peers in a cafe who introduced me to cigarettes and hookahs. They used popular American movies depicting high-status drug culture to convince me that using substances would boost my energy and academic focus."
Within two months of becoming addicted, her habit escalated dramatically. "I ended up selling my personal vehicle - worth nearly $20,000 - to finance my habit," she revealed. "When dealing networks realize you have money, they inflate prices and exploit you. Once your money runs out, they push vulnerable users, especially young women, into acting as dealers or intermediaries to secure their next hit."
She described aggressive intimidation tactics by dealers, including sending unprompted videos of active drug use to trigger relapse, showing up outside her family home, and selling SIM cards containing contact lists of dependent users on the black market for exorbitant prices.
From consumption to distribution
Security officials note that severe financial strain and chemical dependency frequently force long-term users with no prior criminal history into distribution roles.
An inmate from Erbil with a record of seven arrests detailed his descent into organized trafficking. "Six of my arrests were strictly for personal use, but this seventh time was for dealing," he explained. "I was heavily under the influence when a contact called me from Sulaimani to pick up a bundle of forty units of marijuana flower and drop it at a specific location for a share of the profit."
He described severe physical withdrawal symptoms and psychological deterioration caused by crystal methamphetamine and heroin. "When you are hooked on crystal, you feel paranoid and overly aggressive, believing only your own thoughts and acting out wildly," he said. "During severe withdrawal, a person becomes capable of anything - stealing from their own parents, resorting to violence, or self-harm - just to satisfy the body's demand for the drug."
Impact on athletes, vulnerable youth
The reach of drug networks extends into local sports institutions. A former competitive boxer from Sulaimani, who previously represented four athletic clubs and won twenty championship titles, detailed how personal tragedy and toxic social circles derailed his career.
"After my mother passed away in March 2016, I fell in with bad company in the local market who introduced me to drugs for free at first," he recounted. "I went from winning twenty athletic championships to losing my physical strength, my career, and my family's trust. I am now stuck inside four walls."
In addition to current inmates, the broadcast highlighted insights from recovered users, including Hiwa Hama-Rahim, who successfully overcame addiction and now advocates for community awareness and early intervention.
Institutional policy, rehabilitation, legal frameworks
KRG security spokespersons reaffirmed that state policy aims to distinguish between predatory drug traffickers and dependent users seeking help.
Major Arkan Bibani, Media Officer for the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, alongside Colonel Karzan Sherko, Spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region Security Agency (Asayish), underscored that public education and early family intervention are as crucial as border interdiction.
Under existing regional protocols, individuals who voluntarily surrender themselves or seek medical intervention are treated through medical pathways rather than criminal prosecution.
"The security directorate respected my decision when I came forward voluntarily for treatment," noted the female institute student, who has now been clean for two months and plans to resume her studies. "If specialized, well-equipped rehabilitation centers were widely available, many more young people would come forward to break free from this cycle."
Structural challenges ahead
Despite ongoing efforts by Asayish and anti-narcotics units to intercept disguised shipments at borders and dismantle dealing rings, experts agree that Iraqi Kurdistan urgently requires dedicated, long-term public medical facilities.
Expanding accessible psychiatric care, post-addiction rehabilitation, and community support remains vital to curbing relapse rates and protecting the region's youth from organized narcotics networks.
All individuals interviewed for this program granted permission to speak voluntarily and without external pressure, stating that their sole objective was to raise public awareness and prevent others from falling into addiction.
