Student-Run Drug Laboratory Dismantled in Tashkent

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Officers of the State Security Service and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan have shut down a drug laboratory operating in a rented apartment in the Mirzo Ulugbek district of Tashkent during a joint operational raid.

The investigation established that the illegal operation involved an 18-year-old woman and a 20-year-old student of the Tashkent Institute of Management and Economics.

According to law enforcement authorities, since September 2025 the suspects had been receiving chemical precursors and producing synthetic drugs on the instructions of handlers linked to an online drug store operating via the Telegram messenger.

During a search, officers seized about one kilogram of mephedrone, along with equipment and tools used in the production of the prohibited substances.

As part of follow-up operational measures based on geolocation data obtained from the detained student, another kilogram of synthetic drugs was discovered in a field in the Yangihayot district, concealed using the so-called “stash” method.

The investigation led to the identification of other members of the criminal network. Subsequently, nine individuals were detained while attempting to collect narcotics, along with six more citizens who were working as couriers placing drug stashes.

Law enforcement officials noted that some of those detained were involved in drug distribution as entire families.

Overall, officers prevented the circulation of two kilograms of synthetic drugs, which experts estimate to be equivalent to around 10,000 single-use doses.

A criminal case has been initiated under Article 273, Part 3, Item “b” of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which provides for liability for the illegal manufacture, acquisition, storage, and other actions involving narcotic and psychotropic substances with intent to distribute.

Investigative proceedings are currently ongoing.