Anbar authorities record nearly 700 drug suspects in first eight months of 2025

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Specialized units in Iraq's Anbar province recorded roughly 700 suspects in drug-related cases during the first eight months of the year, an investigating judge with the Higher Judicial Council said. The figure compares with more than 900 suspects logged over the same period last year. Vesam Ali Shaykhan, an investigative judge with the Higher Judicial Council, said traffickers had adopted new smuggling methods, including concealing narcotics inside the internal organs of animals, packing plastic bottles and containers for transport along rivers between districts, and attaching GPS devices to helium balloons to move shipments across borders. He added that most cases were reported from premises such as private generators, barbershops, bakeries and pastry shops. Mohammed Sabah Daoud, director of Anbar's public health department, said combating narcotics was a priority for the local administration and that joint work was under way involving the Health Directorate, the Directorate for Combating Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances, Anbar police and the Youth and Sports Directorate. Mohammed Ali Faisal, a representative of Anbar's narcotics directorate, said screening tests launched for Interior Ministry personnel had detected crystal methamphetamine use among some staff, describing the number of cases as significant. No further details were immediately available.