Trafficking ring dismantled: Kurdistan reveals 90+ fake firms
Speaking at a seminar in Erbil's Palace of Culture and Arts, Najjar, head of the Interior Ministry's Directorate for Combating Organized Crime, explained that many of the dismantled companies posed as recruitment firms and deceived victims with fake job offers in Europe or the Gulf before exploiting them inside the Kurdistan Region, describing trafficking as a 'rapidly evolving threat' requiring constant vigilance.
'The KRG does not approve entry or work permits without verified employment or sponsorship,' Najjar emphasized, noting that trafficking networks have also infiltrated the medical sector, with several doctors arrested for conducting illegal kidney transplants disguised as legitimate donations.
In one case, he added, a Sudanese woman was rescued after being trafficked under false pretenses and forced into domestic labor. 'Trafficking crimes in Iraq can carry up to 10 years in prison, and in fatal cases—such as illegal organ removals—the death penalty.'
The Kurdish official also credited the KRG's proactive efforts for improving the Region's ranking on the global trafficking watchlist, upgrading from Tier 3 to Tier 2 by targeting criminal networks before they act.
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