03 February 2025 :

Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council announced that the Central Criminal Court has sentenced nine Iraqi drug traffickers to death after convicting them of smuggling and distributing illicit substances across the country, Kurdistan24 reported on January 29, 2025.
The council confirmed in an official statement that the security forces seized 186 kilograms of various types of drugs in their possession, including Captagon, methamphetamine, and caffeine, which were intended for distribution.
Based on the available evidence, the court issued capital punishment under Article 27(1) of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law, and all nine traffickers received death penalty.
Drug-related arrests in Iraq have been rising in recent years. In 2023, 14,000 people were arrested on drug charges, compared to 17,000 in 2022. This increase reflects the growing problem of narcotics trafficking and abuse in the country.
With drug networks exploiting Iraq’s porous borders and ongoing security challenges, authorities have intensified counter-narcotics operations to curb trafficking and dismantle organized criminal syndicates fueling the crisis.