ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi authorities said Tuesday they had dismantled a child and human trafficking network, Baghdad’s interior ministry announced in a statement, noting the arrest of its members and framing the operation as part of a wider crackdown on the scourge.
"As part of the successive security crackdowns by the Directorate for Combating Human Trafficking [operating under the Interior Ministry] to pursue child trafficking networks and dry up the sources of this organized crime," the statement said, the directorate "succeeded in dismantling a new criminal network active in human trafficking and child trafficking crimes."
The ministry added that the operation followed "precise intelligence work, intensive field follow-up, and a well-planned security operation," resulting in the "takedown and arrest of the network's members," and reaffirmed its continued efforts to "dismantle criminal networks."
"Child traffickers will be granted no refuge to escape justice," the ministry said, adding that "the accused have been referred to the competent judiciary to face legal action and receive their just punishment."
As of June 22, the interior ministry said authorities had rescued 94 trafficking victims, dismantled 48 trafficking rings, and arrested 1,012 suspects, adding that it had documented 1,344 human trafficking cases and uncovered domestic and transnational trafficking networks operating through digital platforms.
The operation announced Tuesday comes after the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR), an independent non-profit that monitors human rights violations in Iraq, warned earlier this month that gaps in victim identification and legal protections continue to undermine anti-trafficking efforts.
The Baghdad-based monitor reported that some 385 trafficking victims were identified in Iraq in 2025, including 26 children who were sold, adding that the figure contrasted sharply with the 5,107 people detained on trafficking-related charges, arguing that the disparity points to "a structural failure" in identifying and protecting victims.
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