The iraqi drug trafficker, who was not identified but is said to be supported by a prominent armed party, was apprehended on Sunday in the southern province of Missan in possession of a “big number of narcotics,” according to the official.
On Monday, armed men masquerading as soldiers attacked a convoy of over 100 cops bringing him to a court in Amara, the province’s capital, forcing agents to hand him over, according to a police source.
“They arrived in four 4X4 vehicles, all of them armed, and the police who numbered about 100 had no other choice but to surrender their prisoner,” he claimed.
He said the armed men were working for “a powerful” faction, which he would not name for security concerns and fear of retaliation. Missan, one of Iraq’s poorest regions, is a refuge for drug dealers tied to powerful pro-Iran militias that dominate local officials.
During the dictator Saddam Hussein’s era, drug usage was uncommon in Iraq, with both users and sellers risking the death sentence if proven guilty.
However, following Saddam Hussein’s overthrow in 2003, drug usage soared across Iraq, which had long served as a transit point for narcotics on route to Europe from Afghanistan and Iran. Iraq ceased imposing death penalties to drug users and traffickers in 2017, instead choosing for jail terms.
Three police officers were shot and wounded in a raid on the residence of a suspected drug dealer in Baghdad on Monday, according to medical sources.
