Security

Turkish, Iranian envoys address drug trafficking in Kurdistan Region

Mehmet Mevlut Yakut, the Turkish consul general in Erbil, called for intensified efforts among the Kurdistan Regional Government, Turkey, and Iraq to combat drug trafficking.

Kurdistan 24 2023/10/15 17:38

The Turkish consul general, Mehmet Mevlut Yakut (left) and the Iranian consul general, Nasrollah Rashnoudi, Oct. 15, 2023 (Photo: Kurdistan 24)

Kurdistan Narcotics Iran Turkey PKK

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish and Iranian envoys to Erbil on Sunday delivered remarks at the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Conference on Combating Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

Both the Turkish and Iranian consul generals stressed their country's readiness in helping the Kurds combat the narcotics epidemic currently plaguing the Region.

Mehmet Mevlut Yakut, the Turkish consul general in Erbil, called for intensified efforts among the KRG, Turkey, and Iraq to combat drug trafficking.

Yakut added that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has engaged in the smuggling and trafficking of contraband opioids.

He also revealed that PKK members have consistently been arrested for drug trafficking in Turkey.

“Turkish law enforcement authorities seized almost two million Captagon tablets, more than four million ecstasy tablets, 13 tons of methamphetamines and 11 kg of other amphetamines in the first eight months of this year,” Yakut added.

Meanwhile, Nasrollah Rashnoudi, the consul general of Iran in Erbil, emphasized that Iran has always demonstrated its willingness to coordinate and assist regional countries in their efforts to combat the opioid epidemic in the region as a whole.

Rashnoudi also pointed out that smugglers often target youth, and that "we must fight them in every way possible."

Furthermore, the KRG Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Kwestan Mohammed, revealed that in 2023, "5,283 people have been convicted so far, of whom 1,970 have been convicted of drug use and trafficking charges, including 74 women and 1,230 men. Of these, 480 are traffickers and 617 are drug addicts."

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, who also delivered a speech at the conference, called on the international community to formulate a joint strategy with his government to tackle the rising threats of narcotics in Iraq's Kurdish region.