On Tuesday, the Parliamentary Committee for Combating Drugs and Psychotropic Substances commented on the possibility of Iraq becoming an active environment for drug trade. Committee member Madiha al-Maksoosi stated, "Iraq has not turned into an active environment for drug trade, as there are security and governmental measures in place to track all drug gangs." She added that "in recent times, security forces have achieved significant successes in apprehending prominent drug traffickers and international mafias, as well as thwarting attempts to smuggle drugs and seizing large quantities reaching tons, which are then disposed of according to health and legal procedures." She continued, "The claim that Iraq is becoming a regional and international center for drug trade is incorrect; this cannot happen under the security measures and thorough monitoring of this file by the Prime Minister, security ministers, and all officials in security and military institutions," noting that "there has been a significant decline in the trade of these substances due to the success of targeted operations against these gangs."
The Ministry of Interior stated last Thursday that the operation in Al-Batawain marks the beginning of a new strategy in the ministry's work. Interior Ministry spokesman and Security Media Cell spokesperson Brigadier General Muqdad Miri, in a brief statement, mentioned that "the new strategy of the Ministry of Interior is to prevent crime from occurring and to target its hotspots rather than waiting for it to happen." He indicated that "the security operation carried out in the Al-Batawain area of Baghdad will be the start of a series of operations in other areas." Last Thursday morning, the Ministry of Interior launched a security campaign with hundreds of police officers in the Al-Batawain area in central Baghdad, resulting in the arrest of more than 200 individuals accused of prostitution, human trafficking, drug trade, firearm possession, and other crimes.
