KRG anti-narcotics arrests five on drug dealing charges
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region’s general directorate of anti-narcotics said on Monday that it has arrested five people for drug-related charges, as well as having seized a hefty amount of different drugs.
In a statement, the anti-narcotics directorate said that it has arrested five “dangerous” suspects who were dealing drugs, and seized one kilogram of methamphetamine and marijuana.
Besides depicting the confiscated drug, the picture shared by the anti-narcotics directorate also shows several guns, rifles, knives, a rocket-propelled grenade, as well as fake banknotes.
A source in the Erbil security forces told Rudaw English that the five individuals are currently under investigation and additional information about them will be disclosed at a later stage.
This comes on the same day as the Sulaimani security forces announced the arrest of three people in Halabja for growing and dealing marijuana.
On Thursday the anti-narcotic directorate announced that it had arrested 49 individuals and seized 241 kilograms of different types of narcotics in Erbil and Duhok provinces since October 20.
Drug trafficking and use have been on the rise in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
So far this year, the Kurdistan Region’s security forces have arrested 1,060 people across the Region on drug-related charges and seized hundreds of kilograms of drugs, according to official statistics.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, during a conference on combating the drug trade last month, said that the Region is “seriously and widely working to eradicate and combat” the threat of drugs, and called on the Kurdish and international community to cooperate with Erbil to eliminate the source of what he described an “endemic” problem.
In Iraq, around 15,000 suspects were arrested and more than 400 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated in 2022.
In a statement, the anti-narcotics directorate said that it has arrested five “dangerous” suspects who were dealing drugs, and seized one kilogram of methamphetamine and marijuana.
Besides depicting the confiscated drug, the picture shared by the anti-narcotics directorate also shows several guns, rifles, knives, a rocket-propelled grenade, as well as fake banknotes.
A source in the Erbil security forces told Rudaw English that the five individuals are currently under investigation and additional information about them will be disclosed at a later stage.
This comes on the same day as the Sulaimani security forces announced the arrest of three people in Halabja for growing and dealing marijuana.
On Thursday the anti-narcotic directorate announced that it had arrested 49 individuals and seized 241 kilograms of different types of narcotics in Erbil and Duhok provinces since October 20.
Drug trafficking and use have been on the rise in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
So far this year, the Kurdistan Region’s security forces have arrested 1,060 people across the Region on drug-related charges and seized hundreds of kilograms of drugs, according to official statistics.
Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, during a conference on combating the drug trade last month, said that the Region is “seriously and widely working to eradicate and combat” the threat of drugs, and called on the Kurdish and international community to cooperate with Erbil to eliminate the source of what he described an “endemic” problem.
In Iraq, around 15,000 suspects were arrested and more than 400 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated in 2022.