SULAIMANI (ESTA) — At least 13 suspects arrested in Baghdad on charges of human trafficking, the Iraqi security media cell said.
Among the arrested suspects five women were included charged with “women trafficking” with outside countries, according to a statement released by the security media cell.
In the meantime, six more suspects have been arrested on drug charges in separate Iraqi provinces, the statement added.
Eight thousand narcotic pills have been confiscated which reportedly belonged to two women among the arrested suspects.
In December last year, a child trafficking band, comprising three suspects, had been arrested by the security service in Babil province.
Due to economic instability and militia activity, human trafficking has become an increasingly urgent issue in post-2003 Iraq, according to analysis.
The Iraqi government “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking,” said the U.S. State Department 2022 report on human trafficking.
