Kurdistan's Soran Asayish confiscate seven kg of Iran-imported heroin

Asayish forces routinely confiscate drugs and other illicit material brought through Kurdistan, mainly in Erbil and Sulaimani provinces. Most of it is smuggled into the region through its borders with Iran.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A Kurdistan Region security forces unit on Sunday arrested two suspected drug traffickers and seized over seven kilograms of heroin thought to have been imported from Iran.

“[Our] security forces [Asayish] arrested two suspects and confiscated 7,200 grams of heroin,” Sadiq Ali, the head of the Asayish in Soran district, Erbil province, told Kurdistan 24.

Asayish forces routinely confiscate drugs and other illicit material brought through Kurdistan, mainly in Erbil and Sulaimani provinces. Most of it is smuggled into the region through its borders with Iran.

Ali added that the drugs were smuggled from Iran into the border cities of Qaladiza and Ranya – part of Sulaimani – and later headed to Soran district.

The security forces arrested two men from the city of Qaladiza in possession of narcotics, one of whom was charged with aiding the alleged main smuggler and dealer of the drugs.

In July, security forces arrested four suspected of narcotics trafficking and seized under 30 kilograms of heroin in Duhok’s Akre district.

Also in July, authorities detained two suspects attempting to smuggle 29 kilograms of heroin into one of the Region’s neighboring countries.

In May, Soran security in Erbil said they confiscated dozens of packages of narcotics smuggled into Kurdistan from Turkey. However, the security forces said it was unclear if the drugs were originally from there.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany