Iraqi police arrest suspect in Diyala on human trafficking, sorcery charges

BAQUBA, Iraq — Police in Diyala province have arrested a suspect wanted under Article 7 of Iraq's anti-human-trafficking law in the provincial capital Baquba, north of Baghdad, the Diyala Police Directorate said in a statement on Saturday. According to the statement, units attached to the Diyala 5th Emergency Response Brigade carried out a joint operation with the provincial directorate's intelligence and counterterrorism sections and its organized-crime division's human trafficking branch to apprehend the suspect. The directorate said the individual had been carrying out paid fraud against citizens through sorcery and fortune-telling. The police described the arrest as part of a coordinated security operation. The suspect was referred to the competent judicial authorities, and the directorate said the necessary legal proceedings had been initiated.