Iraq arrests 10+ over alleged oil smuggling network

Shafaq News- Nineveh/ Kirkuk

Iraqi security forces have arrested 11 suspects, including four senior officers, in connection with an alleged oil smuggling network in Nineveh province, a security source told Shafaq News on Thursday.

The detainees include members of Iraq's Energy Police, as well as civilians and suspected smugglers, the source said, adding that the network had operated since 2011 before resuming its activities in 2017, controlling oil transport routes between Mosul and Kirkuk by collecting illicit payments from tanker drivers under the guise of official fees and smuggling operations.

Investigators have also frozen assets and investments worth billions of Iraqi dinars that they allege were laundered through real estate and commercial businesses, including wedding halls and restaurants. One suspect was found to own 13 properties registered in his name, the source noted.

Read more: Iraqi authorities detain 31 in weekly corruption cases