At a Glance 

• The Kurdistan Region authorities seized multiple tons of narcotics and prosecuted thousands of traffickers and users over two years.
• Security forces arrested 962 drug suspects across Erbil, Slemani, Duhok, and Halabja in the first half of 2026
• The vast majority of drug consumers are young people aged 15 to 30.
• The KRG provides free medical rehabilitation with total legal immunity from prosecution or prison.

Security institutions in the Kurdistan Region have seized multiple tons of narcotics and referred thousands of traffickers and users to the courts over the past two years, while the Kurdistan Regional Government simultaneously provides free, prosecution-exempt rehabilitation through specialized advisory centers for individuals battling addiction.

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Key Statements and Focus Area

• According to the security statistics on arrests and seizures, the Kurdistan Region arrested 962 drug suspects in the first half of 2026 alone, building on a massive multi-year enforcement drive that yielded over 3,200 total arrests across its primary regional jurisdictions.
• The vast majority of victims and drug users across the Kurdistan Region are youth between the ages of 15 and 30.

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in Erbil and Duhok, 1,771 traffickers and 1,500 users were arrested over a two-year period, alongside the seizure of 1,443 kilograms of narcotics and more than 42,000 pill packs.

During the first half of 2026, security forces arrested 744 suspects (482 traffickers and 262 users) in Erbil and Duhok, following the apprehension of 1,708 individuals across both governorates throughout 2025.

In the Slemani and Halabja jurisdictions, authorities apprehended 218 suspects during the first six months of 2026, confiscating 11 kilograms of hashish, 80 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, and 25,000 illicit pills.

This follows a massive enforcement wave in 2025, where regional operations yielded the seizure of over 1.2 tons of narcotics and 3.6 tons of chemical precursors, culminating in 475 arrests.

FYI

In response to this escalating threat, the Counter-Narcotics Directorate has established specialized advisory centers across Kurdistan Region cities, offering individuals struggling with addiction free medical rehabilitation and complete legal immunity from prosecution or imprisonment.

This public health initiative marks a shift away from traditional punitive measures, as highlighted by the case of a 40-year-old Erbil inmate serving a 17-year sentence.

His conviction underscores the severe toll of illicit networks, which led from substance abuse to trafficking, ultimately resulting in the total loss of his livelihood, wealth, and family.

Judge Nizar Jaf, a public prosecutor at the Slemani Adult Reformatory, issued a video appeal earlier warning of a significant surge in narcotics consumption after revealing that more than half of the conditional release files he processed in a single hour involved drug offenses.

In light of these escalating figures, he urged authorities to implement immediate solutions and called on families to closely monitor their children to prevent further exposure to substance abuse.