ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi security forces arrested over 20 suspected foreign and local drug traffickers, seizing at least 50 kilograms of narcotics, according to a Monday statement by the General Directorate for Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs.

The directorate announced that their teams “managed over the past 72 hours, to seize 50 kilograms of various narcotic substances and arrest 21 international and local traffickers in a series of precise, specialized operations conducted under direct judicial supervision.”

The statement asserted that the operation was carried out under the decisions of a judge “specialized in examining special narcotics affairs cases,” operating in al-Rusafa Central Investigation Court, and conducted by Iraq’s internal security forces.

Iraq, with its extensive borders with Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, has evolved from a transit route to a significant drug consumption market. Authorities in both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq have intensified their efforts to eradicate the problem.

Iraq’s Ministry of Interior in May announced that it has ranked third in global efforts to fight drug trafficking and abuse, according to the latest World Police Summit. Iraq comes third, following India and Montenegro in first and second places respectively. The summit evaluated 138 countries and 205 governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Iraqi authorities arrested around 14,500 suspects on drug-related charges in 2024 and issued death sentences for 144 suspected drug traffickers. At least 454 others were sentenced to life (20 years in Iraqi law), according to official data.

Iraqi security forces have made significant strides; however, the country faces substantial challenges, such as insufficient rehabilitation centers and overcrowded prisons, leading to high relapse rates among former inmates.

Iraq's stringent narcotics laws, which impose death or life sentences for drug-related offenses, are a response to the severity of the crisis but have yet to fully curb the increasing drug use and trafficking.