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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi authorities have seized more than two tons of narcotics since the beginning of 2026 as part of ongoing operations to "strike smuggling networks and dismantle organized crime gangs," the interior ministry announced Monday, with more than 6,000 people sentenced on drug-related charges.
Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesperson Miqdad Miri announced in a video on X that authorities had confiscated approximately 2.8 tons of narcotics from January through October, while Iraqi courts issued sentences against 6,045 defendants, including 348 life sentences and 86 death sentences.
Iraq in recent months has intensified efforts to combat cross-border drug trafficking through cooperation with regional security agencies, with recent operations extending from the Kurdistan Region to the United Arab Emirates and Libya.
Miri said the General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances continues to carry out "security operations targeting international drug trafficking networks" to pursue traffickers and disrupt their activities.
The operations rely on "precise intelligence and joint security coordination with counterpart security agencies in brotherly countries," he added, emphasizing efforts to prevent smuggling and pursue those involved.
Among the operations conducted in October, Iraqi intelligence helped Libyan authorities seize approximately 1.2 million Captagon pills and arrest a Libyan suspect.
In the UAE, authorities confiscated another 200,000 Captagon pills and arrested those involved, based on Iraqi intelligence that Miri said "contributed to thwarting smuggling operations."
In Iraqi territorial waters, two separate operations involving naval forces and intelligence units in October resulted in the seizure of 120 kilograms of narcotics and the arrest of six foreign suspects.
Authorities seized 90 kilograms of hashish in an operation announced at the beginning of October, while a second operation announced in the middle of the month resulted in the recovery of 30 kilograms of narcotics after an armed confrontation at sea.
Miri said the operation demonstrated the authorities' determination to continue "pursuing smuggling networks and drug trafficking, even on the open sea."
Nineveh province's anti-narcotics directorate, in conjunction with its counterpart in Sulaimani, seized “50 kilograms of Captagon pills and [arrested] one of the traffickers."
In Khanaqin, Diyala province, a joint operation by anti-narcotics units from Anbar and Diyala on Wednesday led to the arrest of two suspected traffickers and the seizure of 600,000 Captagon pills weighing approximately 105 kilograms. The suspects were caught in the act, and the pills were "intended for smuggling into a neighboring country," according to Miri.
Addressing Iraqis, Miri said the interior ministry remains committed to "striking smuggling networks, dismantling organized crime gangs, and protecting the security of the country and its citizens."
Separately on Monday, Iraq's Military Intelligence Directorate announced the arrest of two suspects in Anbar and Kirkuk provinces during separate operations targeting drug trafficking.
In a statement carried by the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA), the directorate said the arrests followed "precise intelligence information" and field surveillance that enabled security forces to track the suspects and locate them.
The suspects were arrested under Article 28 of Iraq's Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law and handed over to the relevant authorities along with the seized drugs for further legal proceedings.
