Authorities Seize More Than 20 kg of Drugs in Tashkent

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan's State Security Service has seized more than 20 kilograms of narcotic substances in Tashkent, the agency's press service said.

During a search of the temporary residence of a 58-year-old native of Surkhandarya Region, law enforcement officers found 13 kilograms and 50 grams of opium and 7 kilograms and 137 grams of hashish.

A criminal case has been opened under Articles 246 ("Smuggling") and 273 ("Illegal manufacture, acquisition, possession and other actions involving narcotic drugs, their analogues or psychotropic substances with the intent to distribute, as well as their distribution") of Uzbekistan's Criminal Code.

Investigators are continuing to establish the identities of any possible accomplices and the origin of the seized narcotic substances.