Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani described on Tuesday the war his country is waging against drugs as “complex.”
In a speech delivered at the first Baghdad International Conference on Drug Control, the PM said the drug issue is now threatening societies, and its danger threatens state entities.
“We are facing a complex war in which the enemy infiltrates to kill our children, destroy our families, and disintegrate our social fabric. Iraqi society is armed with remarkable values that reject drugs, and Iraqis are proud of this stance,” he stressed.
The PM then explained that his country’s war against drugs is no less ferocious and dangerous than Iraq’s victorious war against terrorism.
Sudani revealed that Iraq has established special clinics to treat victims of drug addiction including medical, psychological and social support for them.
Also, he said his country enacted the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017, and it was a quantum leap in terms of defining goals, mechanisms and penalties.
He explained that the Supreme National Commission for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Affairs and the Directorate for Narcotics Affairs in the Ministry of Interior were formed, in cooperation with the Ministries of Labor and Health.
“Iraq aims to unify efforts with its Arab brothers to confront the pandemic of drugs,” Sudani affirmed.
The PM then said the media and societal awareness play an important role, as do the contributions of religious, cultural, and educational institutions to raise awareness of the dangers of drugs.
“Terrorism and drugs are two sides of the same crime, and the financing of terrorism is often based on drugs,” he confirmed, calling for international and regional cooperation through the exchange of information and coordination to uncover drug networks and combat them effectively.
“Iraq faces drugs at the domestic level, and cooperation at the international level is crucial to addressing this threat,” the PM stressed.
The first Baghdad International Conference on Drug Control kicked off in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday. Several Arab and Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait and Türkiye took part.
Iraq faces an open war on drugs and the political mafias and organized gangs standing behind it.
According to the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS), at least 150 drug dealers were arrested in the first five months of 2023, and over 52 kilograms of narcotics were confiscated.
Also, in a qualitative operation in the Basra Governorate, southern Iraq, security forces foiled the entry of 30 kg of Crystal methamphetamine and have confiscated more than 13 million narcotic pills.
Meanwhile, INSS announced Saturday the arrest of four drug smugglers in Basra.
Also in Dhi Qar Governorate, the National Security Service arrested a drug dealer in possession of quantities of narcotic substances and a number of weapons and equipment.
