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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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    Interior Minister: Iraq is free of drug factories

    Rocky
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    Interior Minister: Iraq is free of drug factories Empty Interior Minister: Iraq is free of drug factories

    Post by Rocky Fri 27 Sep 2024, 6:50 am

    [size=38]Interior Minister: Iraq is free of drug factories[/size]


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    September 27, 2024[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
    Baghdad/Al-Masala: Interior Minister Abdul Amir Al-Shammari announced the thwarting of drug smuggling operations across the borders and the arrest of international networks, while indicating that Iraq is free of drug factories. He confirmed that measures have been taken to secure the borders and prevent the infiltration of terrorists and drug dealers.
    Al-Shammari said in an interview with media outlets monitored by Al-Masala, “At the beginning of the formation of the government, the Directorate of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs was linked to the Police Affairs Agency, as its work was police-related, and it dealt with the issue of arresting users and dealers as a police case. There was no intelligence tracking and parallel investigation, i.e. confiscating the movable and immovable funds of drug dealers, and there was no tracking of international trade gangs, and there was no international regional cooperation and coordination between Iraq and neighboring countries, which Iraq is considered a passage for smuggling to various parties.”
    He added, “When the government was formed and under the direction of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, we resolved to address the drug control file as an important file no less important than the issue of combating terrorism,” indicating that “there was a decision to separate this directorate from the police agency and make it initially linked to the intelligence agency, and then linked to the Minister of Interior.”
    He continued: “After its connection, the work focused on reducing the supply of narcotic substances, and we have indications of an increase in the prices of this substance, and an increase in the number of those arrested,” indicating that “reducing the supply is subject to controlling international borders, and this is what we have worked hard on since the formation of the government until now, as well as following up on drug trafficking gangs.”
    “We have been working on controlling the international borders, as we have with Syria, and we are working on controlling them because a large part of the Syrian borders is not under the authority of the Syrian government. Therefore, we have worked on creating fortifications and arbitrations with the Syrian borders through a system of barriers. There are also control procedures on the Iranian borders,” he said, stressing that “these borders are long and have difficult terrain such as mountainous areas, marshlands and the Shatt al-Arab. The borders have been controlled at a high level, with the monitoring of drug dealers. There has been an increase in the activities of arresting dealers, smuggling networks and gangs, and this has led to a significant reduction in supply.”
    He explained that “at the level of international cooperation and coordination, we adopted the first Baghdad Conference, which was held in 2023, which was attended by all the drug agencies in neighboring countries, in addition to Lebanon and Egypt, and with the attendance of the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, as well as the International Anti-Narcotics Mission. After that, Jordan hosted a quadripartite meeting for the countries of Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon,” stressing that “this year, the second conference was held, which was the most important and prominent, as the ministerial conference of the interior ministers of neighboring countries, in addition to Lebanon and Egypt, was held under the auspices of the Prime Minister, and the conference was a great success. We agreed on several recommendations, including the exchange of information, coordination and facilitation of the extradition of the observer between these countries, as well as the arrest of wanted persons from these countries through communication and connection with these countries.”
    He pointed out that “the conference was successful, and we reaped its fruits during the previous period,” indicating that “in the stage of reducing demand, we sought to open forced clinics and rehabilitation centers for addicts who are arrested and are placed in accordance with Article 32.”
    He explained that “these addicts may be sentenced to one year, and previously they were placed in police stations and detention centers with criminals, while now we have started to include them in these clinics, and a large number of them have been rehabilitated, and after the rehabilitation process they are followed up and entered into the database as victims of drug trafficking.”
    “So far, approximately 16 clinics have been opened in the governorates in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, where doctors, counselors, psychological researchers and social researchers have been provided, and addicts are being treated,” he added. “We also followed up on the investigation into the trafficking networks, and for the first time, more than 100 drug dealers have been sentenced to death this year alone, according to Article 27, which pertains to international trade, in addition to the presence of thousands of local traffickers according to Article 28, and their sentences range from life imprisonment to 15 years in prison, and there are different sentences.”
    “This has greatly contributed to controlling this file, but the battle with drug dealers is still open and long, as this trade generates huge profits,” he explained, stressing that “we have provided full support to the Drug Affairs Directorate, which is supported by the Intelligence Agency, the Medical Services Directorate, the Relations and Media Department, and all the departments of the ministry have been dedicated to supporting the Drug and Psychotropic Substances Affairs Directorate. At the same time, there is support from the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister, and there is an allocation of one billion dinars per month that was approved by the Council of Ministers.”
    He reiterated that “there is financial and moral support for the Anti-Narcotics Directorate,” noting that “two weeks ago, we submitted the first amendment to Law No. 50 on Combating Narcotics, and it included some amendments aimed at closing the gaps in the existing law.”
    He explained that “previously there were some loopholes in the tables, as there are 10 tables attached to the law, and there was manipulation and corruption by turning stores into drug users, and this issue was almost completely closed by the amendment, and there is also a tightening of the penalties in this amendment, and we hope that the House of Representatives will approve it as soon as possible.”
    He added, “This year witnessed the arrest of prominent drug dealers hiding in neighboring countries, in cooperation and coordination with neighboring countries, where they were arrested and handed over to Iraq. This is considered a qualitative development, as for the first time there is understanding and openness to neighboring countries,” stressing that “everyone agrees that drugs are a crime and a scourge, and must be eliminated.”
    He pointed out that "a drug factory was seized in Sulaymaniyah that was manufacturing Captagon, and there was an intention to establish a factory in Muthanna Governorate that was seized before it was established. Currently, there is no manufacturing in Iraq, but rather just attempts, and they are being controlled."
    Regarding the border file, the minister explained that “the length of the Iraqi border with neighboring countries is more than 3,500 kilometers, of which 620 kilometers are with the Syrian Arab Republic, and we have a long border with the Islamic Republic of Iran of about 1,500 kilometers,” stressing that “our borders with Syria are more than 95% secured, as a concrete wall has been built and in some areas a system of wire barriers has been installed in addition to a trench, and all borders are monitored by cameras, and major drug smuggling operations have been thwarted.”
    “While on the border with the Iranian side, there was a clash last week with two smuggling gangs, the first in Diyala, and the second in Maysan in the Al-Zubaidat area, where the security forces in Diyala were able to kill one of the drug dealers and the other was injured, and he was arrested and is currently in the hospital, and is being investigated,” he said, indicating: “As for Maysan, there were 3 smuggling dealers, one of whom was injured, and they were all arrested and are now being investigated.”
    He continued, saying: “At the same time, we have good procedures in the Shatt al-Arab by the Coast Guard Brigade,” stressing that “these procedures have enhanced the reduction of the flow of drugs into the country.”
    He explained that “in the new amendment, there will be a drug division at the port, and the port will be completely controlled,” stressing that “in controlling the borders, we have drones and advanced cameras, and we have become more capable of controlling the borders and coordinating with neighboring countries at a high level through the presence of officers from both sides.”
    He pointed out that "during the past two years, there has been a qualitative shift in the international borders, and this has had a positive impact on the country's security by preventing the infiltration of terrorists and gangs, and we hope that the work of the borders will develop."
    Regarding the security agreement with Iran, Al-Shammari stated that “we have a security agreement with Iran, where an agreement was made to evacuate the headquarters of the Iranian opposition groups from the border and evacuate them and transfer them to other locations in coordination with the regional government and in the presence of the commander of the border forces, the national security advisor and the regional interior minister.” He indicated that “these locations were controlled by the border forces command and for the first time these areas are under control, which has greatly enhanced border security, but we still have some gaps within the Third Brigade sector, First Region in Sulaymaniyah.”
    Regarding controlling the borders with Turkey, he pointed out that “there is a committee to coordinate with the Turkish side, and there is a plan to control the border strip, and financial allocations have been provided to build police stations, as more than 30 police stations have been built on the border strip within the First Brigade sector, First Region Command, and the Second Brigade, and we are continuing to do so.”
    Regarding the national card, the minister pointed out that “the national card file was lagging at the beginning of the formation of the government, as in November 2022 the number of people registered on the national card was 27 million, of whom only 22 million received a national card and 5 million did not receive the card,” stressing that “our procedures were quick. A technical contract was signed with the German company that established this system, followed by an expansion contract.”
    He explained that “during the past two years, we were able to register around 40 million and 500 thousand, and all of this number received the card, because a factory was established to print the national card by the company in Baghdad,” stressing that “about 4 months ago, we opened a factory to manufacture and print the national card in Baghdad, and we do not have any problem in issuing the national card.”
    “We were also able to improve the shape and type of the card, and the image on the card became colored, and we added security marks to the national card, and this helped all the ministries of the state to establish a solid system based on the national card, which does not accept forgery and all ministries need it,” he added, noting that “the Prime Minister opened the digital data center and all this information will be available to the ministries and agencies so that they can take the information and at the same time the national card has become the basis for the electronic passport.”
    He explained that “during the coming period from now until the end of the year, after introducing the central registration system, there will be an integrated system that can be placed anywhere, meaning that the citizen, even if he is in a certain governorate, can register in his place of residence. For example, a citizen whose population is in Basra can register in Baghdad, and as a result, the burden on the citizen will be reduced.”
    He added: "We have Nineveh Governorate, which was late in issuing cards due to the control of ISIS terrorist gangs, and now it has some momentum."
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