BAGHDAD, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi authorities said Tuesday that 116 international drug traffickers have been arrested so far in 2024.
A statement by the Iraqi Interior Ministry said that the efforts came within a large-scale operation carried out by the Iraqi anti-narcotic forces to dismantle the international drug networks in the country.
It said that over 3 tons of various narcotic substances were seized during the year, while 82 international drug traffickers received death penalties by the Iraqi judiciary.
The chaos and conflicts in Iraq since the U.S. invasion in 2003 have impeded successive Iraqi governments from effectively addressing the threat of drugs.
In May 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani underlined the importance of waging "a war on drugs," saying that drug dealing remains a major source of funding for terrorism and that the circulation of drugs flourishes in the shadow of terrorism. ■
