ERBIL — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has raised concerns over Sulaymanhiyah province’s role as a major transit hub for narcotics entering Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and even Europe.
A detailed investigation conducted in July by the UN agency identifies three main entry points for narcotics into Iraq, with Sulaymanhiyah serving as a primary route for drugs traveling from Afghanistan and Iran before reaching Europe.
According to the report, Sulaymanhiyah has the lowest recorded seizures of narcotics compared to other cities like Erbil, Duhok, and Zakho, which face stricter monitoring measures. Additionally, Iraq’s Ministry of Interior, with the support of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), recently reported dismantling a narcotics manufacturing facility near Derbandikhan in the province, as part of an ongoing security operation.
This issue aligns with previous claims made by Lahur Talabani, former co-president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), who had asserted that a high-ranking PUK official was overseeing narcotics production in the province, leading to substance abuse among local youth. These developments underline the ongoing challenges in curbing drug trafficking and the role Sulaymanhiyah plays as a transit point in the wider region.