ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Najaf Criminal Court on Monday announced that three drug dealers were sentenced to life after they were caught in possession of over a kilogram of various narcotic substances.

The convicts were caught “in possession of 1.329 kilograms of hashish and methylamphetamine, as well as 48 narcotic pills intended for trafficking and sale among users,” along with two electrical scales and various kinds of drug paraphernalia, read a statement by the court.

The sentences come a day after the Iraqi Interior Ministry announced the seizure of over one ton of Captagon pills that were brought to Iraq from Syria via Turkey, along with dismantling a “dangerous drug trafficking network” involved in the shipment.

Earlier in March the Iraqi National Security Service announced the dismantling of a “dangerous” drug trafficking ring in Baghdad as well as the seizure of a large quantity of narcotics in their possession after three months of “careful intelligence follow-up and continuous field effort.”

In late December, Iraq’s General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances revealed that security forces were able to arrest a total of 14,438 suspects on drug-related charges in 2024, in addition to confiscating six tons and 183 kilograms of narcotics.

 A total of 144 death sentences were issued for suspected drug traffickers in 2024, and 454 others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment (20 years in Iraqi law), according to the directorate. At least 11 drug suspects were killed, and 33 were wounded in clashes with security forces, the directorate added, also reporting three deaths and 31 injuries among its ranks during that same period.

Iraq, with its extensive borders with Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, has evolved from a transit route to a significant drug consumption market. The country has regressed to a drug manufacturing hub, according to a 2022 report by the Washington Institute.

Despite consecutive government cabinet pledges to fight the drug phenomenon in the country and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani having ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers across all provinces, Iraq’s infrastructure is still too weak to combat the rapid increase in drug use.