The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is ramping up its efforts to combat drug trafficking and usage, resulting in the arrest of 580 individuals since the beginning of this year on related charges.

Teams from the Directorate of Drug Control, the Ministry of Health, and a committee from the Erbil Governorate are conducting regular inspections of cafes and restaurants. These inspections include drug tests on "shisha or hookah" tobacco and screening of employees.

"Our tests include drug screening for all employees working in cafes and restaurants," said Bana Mohammed, a member of the health committee. "We also test the urine of workers in our laboratories, and we carefully read the results. Certainly, we will be aware if any person is an addict or a drug user."

Special committees are assigned to inspect all cafes and restaurants that offer "hookah or shisha" tobacco. Samples of the tobacco are taken to laboratories for comprehensive testing to determine if they contain any narcotic substances.

Arkan Omar, a spokesperson for the General Directorate of Drug Control in the Kurdistan Region, stated, "We test the blends of 'hookah or shisha' tobacco in cafes and restaurants to ensure that they are not centers for drug distribution and sale. At the same time, we provide guidelines and instructions to cafe and restaurant owners to comply with the directives of the Directorate of Drug Control."

"We are determined not to let the Kurdistan Region become a hub for drug smuggling and sales," Omar added. "If we uncover cases of smuggling and sales, we will take strict legal measures against those individuals."

According to statistics from the General Directorate of Drug Control, 580 people have been arrested this year, including 328 individuals accused of buying and selling drugs. Additionally, 76 kilograms of drugs have been seized.

The ongoing anti-drug campaign in cafes and restaurants aims to protect the citizens of the Kurdistan Region from the dangers of drug abuse.