ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraq’s anti-narcotics department announced Thursday the arrest of two drug traffickers in possession of tens of kilograms of crystal meth and marijuana in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province.

"In a qualitative intelligence operation, and through the Karkh Narcotics Affairs Directorate, in coordination and cooperation with the Sulaimani Anti-Narcotics Directorate, two drug dealers were arrested in the north of the country,” read a statement by Iraq’s General Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances.

The statement added that the arrested were in possession of “41 kilograms of crystal meth and 21 kilograms of marijuana.”

Iraq, with its extensive borders with Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, has evolved from a transit route to a significant drug consumption market. Authorities in both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, however, have intensified their efforts to eradicate the problem.

An uptick in drug trafficking has also plagued Erbil and Duhok provinces, spokesperson of the Kurdistan Region’s anti-narcotics department, Arkan Bibani, told The New Region last week, adding 540 drug traffickers have been arrested in the first six months of 2025 in Erbil and Duhok.

Iraq’s Ministry of Interior has recently announced that it has ranked third in global efforts to fight drug trafficking and abuse, according to the latest World Police Summit held in the UAE, which places Iraq behind India in first place and Montenegro in second. The summit evaluated 138 countries and 205 governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Iraqi authorities arrested around 14,500 suspects on drug-related charges in 2024 and issued death sentences for 144 suspected drug traffickers. At least 454 others were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment (20 years in Iraqi law), according to official data.