Kurdistan security arrests drug smuggler in possession of 92 kilograms of heroin: Statement

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Anti-Narcotics Directorate in the Kurdistan Region’s province of Erbil announced on Sunday the arrest of a suspected drug smuggler allegedly in possession of 92 kilograms of heroin.

In a statement received by Kurdistan 24, the Directorate said that the accused, identified only with the initials A.J.A., is a Turkish citizen living in Erbil. It added that there were 184 packs of the seized narcotics, totaling 92 kilograms.

The sale or consumption of unregulated narcotics is strictly prohibited in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

Kurdish and Iraqi authorities often intercept shipments of drugs passing mainly through the provinces of Basra, Diyala, Erbil, and Sulaimani, specifically in the towns and villages connecting the country with Iran and Turkey.

On Dec. 2020, Kurdistan Region’s security forces announced that during 2020 it had confiscated over 550 kilograms of narcotics, mostly heroin, in a statement outlining the department’s activities in seizures of illegal items. 

Read More: Erbil security forces confiscate over 550 kg of narcotics in 2020, mostly heroin

Local activists and authorities have also warned of the rise in drug abuse within Iraq itself.