How Iraq became a key conduit in the global drug trade

Its central location has made it a crucial hub. Today, Iraq not only trafficks drugs but produces them, and 60% of its citizens are now users. Unemployment and corruption have fuelled the problem.

Lina Jaradat

How Iraq became a key conduit in the global drug trade

Salam Zaidan

last update on 29 Oct 2024

Over the past five years, Iraq has become a major consumer, producer and trafficker of synthetic drugs. Amid security breakdowns and civil strife, successive governments have simply had other more pressing priorities to deal with.

This has led to the proliferation of drug trafficking in the country, with around 100,000 Iraqis involved in the business, according to economist Mustafa Akram Hantoush. Methamphetamine—known as crystal meth—and Captagon are the most prevalent drugs. According to a recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, synthetic drug consumption and production have surged in the country over the past five years. In 2022, Captagon seizures were up 3,380% compared to 2019.

Iraq Border Authority/AFP — A handout picture released by the Iraqi border authority on March 11, 2023, shows Captagon pills seized by the Iraqis at the al-Qaim border crossing between Syria and Iraq.

Trafficking routes and methods

Iraq's strategic location at the crossroads of a complex global drug trafficking network spanning Southwest Asia, Africa, and Europe makes it a crucial transhipment point for major drug trafficking routes. The first—known as the Balkans route— originates in Afghanistan and Pakistan and transports opiates through Iran, Iraq, and Turkey before reaching the Western Balkans and, ultimately, Western European markets.

The second, known as the Southern route, begins in southern Afghanistan and moves synthetic drugs and opiates through Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq. Methamphetamine and cannabis are also smuggled into Iraq through the southern ports in Basra. Heroin comes in from Afghanistan.

In the northern Kurdistan region, heroin is transported from Iran to Turkey and onwards to European markets. But because it's so expensive, local consumption is low. Meanwhile, in the Western part of Iraq—mainly in the Anbar province—Captagon from Syria and Lebanon is re-exported to Jordan and Gulf countries, in addition to being consumed locally. Anti-narcotics specialist Zainab Sati' Al-Beiruti says these pills are often laced with harmful substances, including sulphur.

Traffickers employ a range of methods to transport drugs between cities, concealing them inside politicians' cars (to evade searches) or using elderly individuals, children as young as 10 years old, and women as couriers. Some traffickers even traffic the drugs by air via gliders and drones. Over 1 million pills, including Captagon and Larica, were intercepted using this method while en route to Kuwait.

Iraq's central location has made it a major conduit for drug smuggling southward into the Gulf and northwest into Europe.

Drug traders speaking to Al Majalla on the condition of anonymity explained which areas in Iraq produce which kind of drugs. In the country's southern and central regions, the raw material needed to produce crystal meth is brought in from Iran and Afghanistan and is produced locally in drug labs spread across the Maysan, Dhi Qar, Baghdad, and Diyala governorates.

Domestic drug labs have mushroomed across Iraq after locals learned from neighbouring countries how to manufacture them. The surge in supply can be seen in the price of drugs. For example, the price of crystal meth has significantly decreased—from $20,000 per kilogramme five years ago to $8,000.

Startling figure

A startling figure shows just how big of a problem this has become for Iraqi society. Whereas five years ago, the national drug consumption rate was at 20%, today, it has reached a whopping 60%—with many users under the age of 18— according to Aqeel Nazem, an Iraqi judge who specialises in drug cases. Unemployed youth and families in dire financial straits are among the most vulnerable to drug abuse, according to Al-Beiruti.

But it's not only abuse. Hantoush says high unemployment has driven people—particularly the youth—into the trafficking business as a way to earn income. The drugs are peddled through cafes and hair salons, targeting both men and women.

Corruption has also played a part in the proliferation of the drug trade. Traffickers frequently bribe government officials to spring their comrades from prison, which allows the industry to keep operating. Some drug traffickers have even been found to have direct links with government officials, as was the case of Louay Al-Yasiri—the son of a former governor and intelligence service employee, who was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 for drug-related crimes. He was later pardoned and released from prison.

High unemployment has driven people—particularly the youth—into the trafficking business

Counter-measures

Drug production and abuse have wreaked havoc on Iraqi society and the economy. Drug consumption has led to a surge in crime rates and has also placed a significant burden on the country's healthcare system.

Despite problems with corruption, the government has taken some measures to address the problem. In 2017, it set up the Supreme National Authority for the Control of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and issued the Anti-Drug Strategy for 2023-2025. In the past two years, it has set up rehabilitation clinics and treatment centres to help drug users beat addiction and reintegrate into society. Although there are not currently enough centres to keep up with the demand, this is a good step. Additionally, Iraq has hosted an international conference to help coordinate a unified response to tackling the problem.

Random checkpoints have been set up nationwide to search people for drugs, and citizens seeking driver's licenses, weapons permits, and university admissions have also been required to submit to mandatory drug testing. But Majid Shankali, the head of the Health Committee in parliament, says random screening should not be limited to citizens only, noting that 13% of security force personnel have also tested positive.

Hussein Al-Tamimi, spokesman for the General Directorate of Narcotics Affairs in the Ministry of Interior, tells Al Majalla that in the first half of 2024, security forces seized 1 tonne of drugs and 9 tonnes of psychotropic substances and made 6,000 arrests over drug-related activities. The year prior, 4 tonnes of drugs and 15 tonnes of psychotropic substances were seized. The crackdown helped prevent potential harm to over 20 million people, he says.

The above steps are positive developments, but they remain a drop in the ocean when dealing with a problem that has become so widespread and pervasive. Drug abuse and trafficking will likely continue unless more concrete measures are taken to deal with the root causes of the problem—namely corruption and unemployment.

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