Human trafficker, 23 undocumented Syrians arrested in Sulaimani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Internal security forces (Asayish) in the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province on Sunday told Rudaw they apprehended a human trafficker along with nearly two-dozen undocumented Syrian nationals amid an illegal immigration attempt.

Colonel Salam Abdul Khaliq, spokesperson for the Sulaimani Asayish, said the security forces “arrested a human smuggler along with 19 male and four female migrants who had entered the Kurdistan Region illegally” on Thursday night.

While the trafficker, identified by the initials A.Y., is originally from the Kurdistan Region, the 23 illegal migrants are all Syrian nationals, Abdul Khaliq explained.

All individuals are currently in custody “under the order of the Asayish investigative judge and in accordance with Article 39 of the [federal] Residency Law,” the security official said, adding that “investigations into the case are ongoing.”

Article 23 of the Iraqi Residency Law stipulates that any individual who enters the country in violation of the law or fails to comply with a deportation order will be punished with imprisonment for up to one year or a fine ranging from 500,000 to 1,000,000 Iraqi dinars (around $382 to $763).

The development comes amid a continued effort to curb illegal immigration by authorities in the Kurdistan Region and federal Iraq.

The Sulaimani Asayish had on Wednesday announced the arrest of a smuggling ring comprising seven individuals while they were trying to smuggle 14 illegal migrants into the Region.

Meanwhile, the Iraqi National Security Service (INSS) said last week it apprehended 194 people in connection with two of the largest foiled attempts to illegally smuggle foreigners into the country. Of those apprehended, 125 were caught in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province and 69 in the disputed Kirkuk province.