The absence of work and the restrictions of the pandemic have exacerbated the number of drug users i

[size=52]The absence of work and the restrictions of the pandemic have exacerbated the number of drug users in Iraq[/size]

[size=45]Translated by Hamid Ahmed[/size]
[size=45]For nearly a month, Khaled lay on his sickbed, squeezed in pain. Until 2014, Khaled was working as a security contractor in northern Iraq. And when ISIS overran the area there, it lost its job and plunged into depression.[/size]
[size=45]Now, while he is in one of the cells, he began to recover from his symptoms after years of being addicted to the drug "crystal".[/size]
[size=45]Speaking to CNN reporter Arwa Damon, Khaled said from his cell in Baghdad, "The situation in the country was difficult. You have to go and find work, but there are no opportunities for work." Once and twice, then I fell into the trap of being addicted to crystal material. I could not get rid of it. ” Khaled said that the woman he loved had left him.[/size]
[size=45]Various versions of stories of this nature echo in the prison cells of the anti-drug police department in the western part of Baghdad. A mixture of drug users and traffickers who spoke to CNN said that Iraq's deteriorating socio-economic situation caused them to plunge into addiction. Each prison cell contains twice the number of detainees allocated to it.[/size]
[size=45]Colonel Muhammad Alwan, commander of the anti-drug unit in Baghdad Al-Karkh, said, “We do not have sufficient capacity. Sometimes we have to be slow to work because we do not have sufficient capacity to detain detainees and prisoners, especially with the outbreak of the Corona epidemic. ''[/size]
[size=45]Colonel Alloun estimated that 10% of the residents of the area that fall within the scope of his operations are drug addicts, and the majority of them are addicted to crystal.[/size]
[size=45]Several officials revealed to CNN that the Corona epidemic had exacerbated the drug trade in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Long years of war have significantly fragmented the Iraqi state, with various powerful armed factions operating outside the purview of the government. Corruption is rampant, and the economic situation for many Iraqis appears to be in an endless cycle of decline.[/size]
[size=45]Young Iraqis, regardless of their academic achievement, are struggling to find a job and a job opportunity. In the year 2020, the ban measures caused the Corona epidemic to deal a devastating blow to low-income people.[/size]
[size=45]According to the World Bank's report for 2020, millions more Iraqis are expected to fall below the poverty line due to the shocks of the Corona epidemic and the drop in oil prices, on which the Iraqi economy depends.[/size]
[size=45]Crowds of liberal youths seeking to escape from the grim reality began to increase in number, and in return the drug trade flourished.[/size]
[size=45]Major General Imad Hussein, from the anti-drug police, said while distributing awareness leaflets in one of Baghdad's poor neighborhoods containing a hot contact number: “Drug dealers have their own methods. They often first give drugs for free to the poor and the unemployed to lure them into becoming addicted. Then that person starts stealing money to pay for drugs or the promoters transfer that person to a distributor. ”[/size]
[size=45]In the era of the former regime, the maximum penalty for drugs related to death was, therefore, forced this deterrence to be secretly circulated and to keep the streets free of them. But after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the resulting chaos and weak border controls, the drug trade flourished.[/size]
[size=45]Officials here say that drug smuggling reached its peak in 2014 with the arrival of ISIS and its bringing in the narcotic Captagon pills from Syria into Iraq, which is common among the militants of the organization.[/size]
[size=45]However, the international coalition campaign against ISIS, which ultimately led to the strengthening of the security presence along the Iraqi-Syrian border, made the drug trade turn into the border crossings between Iraq and Iran.[/size]
[size=45]Senior anti-drug officers told CNN that 60% of the crystal trade coming to Iraq comes from the border areas with Iran.[/size]
[size=45]"The neighboring countries are using this thing to destroy the Iraqi society and economy," Colonel Alwan said. We have established several channels with the Iranian side to deal with this problem, but we have not reached an agreement to follow it up. ”[/size]
[size=45]Officials say the beneficiaries of this trade range from Islamic State militants to Iranian-backed armed factions and criminal gangs.[/size]
[size=45]Soraya and her husband were arrested inside a house while promoting the merchandise. They were in possession of 300 grams of crystal, which has a value on the black market of about $ 18,000. Also among the detainees inside the house is another person whom Soraya referred to as a “friend,” and he is in fact a mediator who regularly visits the border areas with Iran to bring the drugs he gets from the main supplier.[/size]
[size=45]During her stay in the women's prison in Baghdad, she says that she does not have a clear idea of ​​the chain of drug suppliers at the border, noting that they receive crystal material from "big suppliers" and that she has no knowledge of their names or backgrounds.[/size]
[size=45]Soraya helps smuggle drugs and pass them through checkpoints in the cities where the three work, and then transfer them to other promoters or sell them themselves.[/size]
[size=45]"As a woman, it is easy to pass through checkpoints, as we are not searched," she continues. I hide the substance all over my body. ” She said, pointing to her chest, hips and feet, under the cover of the black abaya she wears.[/size]
[size=45]For years, several armed groups and terrorists have relied on using women to smuggle explosives and weapons, in a way that deceives the control of the security forces.[/size]
[size=45]According to security officials, drug smuggling networks have recently resorted to recruiting women to facilitate the smuggling process.[/size]
[size=45]Colonel Alwan said, showing pictures of two women on his phone screen who were arrested a few days ago, both of them standing behind a small table with a row of crystal material and other materials found in their possession. Cover and do not attract attention and suspicion to themselves. ''[/size]
[size=45]Pointing to one of the pictures, he said, "We don't have a female force that can search women." "This woman told us that she goes with a man to a rented place and tells him that if he wants to have sex with her, he must buy drugs or take them."[/size]
[size=45]Enas Karim, a biomedical teacher and activist in the field of awareness-raising against drug abuse through social media, says, “Through the interaction of my users and those suffering from this problem, I can say that the biggest reason for resorting to drugs is the emptiness that a person lives in. Most of the drug users are unemployed. This is not true. Even those with university degrees cannot find a job. ”[/size]
[size=45]Activist Karim compared drugs as a form of terrorism, as the abuser can evade surveillance, and that this substance can enter homes, schools and universities in an invisible way.[/size]
[size=45]Activist Karim now works closely with the Drug Enforcement Department, and she prefers that addicts be sent for treatment and recovery rather than ending up behind bars.[/size]
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