An Iraqi court has sentenced a convicted international drug trafficker to life imprisonment following a joint operation between Iraqi and Australian authorities, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) announced on Tuesday.
The council said the man was among the most wanted fugitives by Iraqi and international judicial authorities and was convicted of importing large quantities of narcotics, including heroin, into Iraq and Australia.
Australian media identified the convicted man as Kazem Hamad, also known as Kadhim Malik Hamad Rabah Al-Hajami, a former Melbourne-based organized crime figure who was deported to Iraq in 2023.
According to the SJC, Al-Hajami was linked to several cross-border criminal activities, including drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, kidnapping and extortion.
The council said he was arrested in January after Australian Federal Police shared intelligence with Iraqi authorities and submitted a formal request for judicial cooperation. The operation was carried out by Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation and the Interior Ministry’s Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Affairs Directorate after obtaining the necessary legal approvals.
The life sentence was issued by Baghdad’s Karkh Criminal Court.
Australian authorities have previously linked Al-Hajami to Melbourne’s “tobacco wars” and identified him as a person of interest in investigations into organized crime-related arson attacks targeting tobacco shops in Victoria.
The Supreme Judicial Council said the case reflects growing cooperation between Iraq and international partners to combat transnational organized crime through intelligence sharing, coordinated investigations and judicial cooperation. It added that authorities will continue working with partner countries to pursue fugitives, dismantle criminal networks and strengthen the rule of law.
