ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iraqi interior ministry announced Tuesday it had dismantled 220 “international human trafficking networks” since the start of the year, in addition to 96 “sexual exploitation networks.”

At least 91 people had fallen victim to the human trafficking networks, and 24 suspects have so far stood trial for this crime, ministry spokesperson Abbas al-Bahadli said during a press conference.

Bahadli also revealed that the ministry had arrested 22 groups involved in the trafficking and smuggling of foreign workers and migrants, adding that at least 91 victims had died due to the operations of these networks, and 13 individuals were convicted for their affiliation.

“96 sexual exploitation networks were dismantled, in which 99 citizens were sexually exploited, and the number of those convicted for this crime is 276,” he added.

The ministry mouthpiece further explained that 16 beggar networks were apprehended with 39 victims, resulting in the issuance of 37 court rulings against the defendants.

Human trafficking in Iraq often takes the form of “foreign workers” imported into the country by trafficking networks and forced to work under harsh conditions for lengthy hours and minimal payment.

The victims often have their passports and personal documents confiscated to prevent them from abandoning their occupations.

In its 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report on Iraq, the US State Department acknowledged that Baghdad had made “significant efforts” to combat trafficking, including investigating and prosecuting more trafficking crimes, but stressed that the government did not “fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”

“Foreign migrant workers, including foreign labor trafficking victims, faced regular discrimination in the criminal justice process, re-victimization, and retaliation from traffickers,” read the report.

“Traffickers fraudulently recruit some foreign migrants for work in other countries in the region, but subsequently force or coerce them into working in federal Iraq and the IKR [Iraqi Kurdistan Region].”