ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi authorities have confiscated more than 1.5 tons of narcotics and secured nearly 2,500 convictions in drug-related cases during the first five months of 2026, according to the country’s Directorate for Combating Narcotics, as Baghdad intensifies efforts to curb trafficking and drug abuse.
Abbas al-Bahadli, spokesperson for Iraq’s Directorate for Combating Narcotics, told Rudaw on Saturday that since the beginning of this year, the total number of people convicted in narcotics-related cases has reached 2,498.
His office said 37 people have been sentenced to death this year, while 173 others received life sentences. The remaining 2,288 people received varying prison terms.
Regarding the amount of narcotics seized during field operations this year, Bahadli said authorities had confiscated one ton and 563 kilograms of narcotic substances.
"Iraq has expanded its work at the international level and now has 37 points of contact with different countries for the purpose of exchanging information and conducting field operations outside the country’s borders to eliminate the sources of narcotics," the official said, noting "a high level of cooperation and coordination with the Kurdistan Region."
Iraq remains both a destination and a transit route for narcotics. A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime describes the country as a “conduit” for drug flows between Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, and Europe, while highlighting a surge in Captagon trafficking from Syria and rising domestic consumption.
Iraq’s interior ministry announced last month that authorities had dismantled more than 1,500 drug trafficking networks since 2023, including several operating across international borders.
Malik Mohammed contributed to this article.