Over 1,300 arrests in Kurdistan Region's ongoing battle against narcotics

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Since the beginning of this year, more than 1,311 drug-related suspects have been arrested, of whom 698 were involved in drug trafficking operations. Authorities have successfully seized 444 kilograms of narcotics.

Arkan Omar, spokesperson for the Directorate of Combating Narcotics, states: "We have been working intensively, day and night, to prevent the Kurdistan Region from becoming a hub for drug distribution."

Traffickers have been attempting to transform the Kurdistan Region into either a center for drug distribution or a gateway for transporting narcotics to other countries.

However, their efforts have been consistently thwarted by the Directorate of Drug Control, which continues to dismantle trafficking networks in coordination with the Iraqi government to apprehend gangs operating outside the Kurdistan Region.

Sarmand Barzinji, an anti-drug activist, told Kurdistan24, "One of the major drug sources, particularly those coming from Iran through Qaladze and Rania border areas, has unfortunately become a full-fledged drug trafficking zone. The substances are then transported to Darbandikhan, which serves as another distribution point for other countries."

He added, "Another source is the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which transports drugs from Sinjar to Syria and then exports them to other countries. It's clear who controls these two trafficking routes."

According to the Directorate of Drug Control's statistics for the first 11 months of this year, among the 1,311 arrested suspects, 698 were involved in drug trafficking or sales operations.

The operations resulted in the seizure of:

- 444 kilograms of narcotics

- 45 kilograms of illicit pills

- 29,400 sheets of narcotic tablets

The Kurdistan Region has been intensifying its efforts to combat drug trafficking, as the region faces increasing attempts by traffickers to establish it as a transit hub for narcotics distribution throughout the Middle East.