Three Iranians Jailed In Iraq For Drug Trafficking

KARBALA, Iraq, Aug 21 (AFP) - Three Iranians have been sentenced to more than five years in jail each for drug trafficking in the Iraqi pilgrimage city of Karbala, court sources said Saturday.
The three suspects, found guilty of selling opium and heroin, have been sent to a prison in Hilla, another Shiite Muslim city south of Baghdad, for five years and a month each, a court statement said.
They were arrested three weeks ago in a Karbala hotel, as authorities seek to crack down on alleged drug smuggling rings operated by Iranians who flock to the Shiite holy cities in southern Iraq.
Relations between Iran and Iraq have deteriorated in recent weeks amid a criticism from the interim government in Baghdad that Tehran is meddling in domestic Iraqi affairs.