Iraq hands life sentences to three drug traffickers in Najaf

Shafaq News – Najaf

Iraqi judicial authorities sentenced three drug traffickers to life imprisonment in Najaf on Monday after security forces seized narcotics in their possession.

According to a statement from Iraq’s Higher Judicial Council, the Najaf Criminal Court found the defendants guilty of possessing two kilograms of methamphetamine intended for distribution among users.

The sentences were issued under Article 27/1 of the 2017 Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law.

Drug trafficking has surged across Iraq in recent years, with security officials warning that the country is becoming both a consumer market and a transit point for regional smuggling.

On Sunday, three other traffickers received death sentences after security forces confiscated 18 kilograms of hashish prepared for distribution.

Interior Ministry data shows that more than 1,200 domestic and international drug networks have been dismantled over the past three years, with authorities seizing more than 14 tons of narcotics and courts issuing 23,118 convictions—including 300 death sentences and 1,147 life terms.

Read more: Iraq fights back against synthetic drug flood engulfing the Middle East