Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Law enforcement agencies have broken up a group involved in drug trafficking in Tashkent and the surrounding region.
During operational activities, officers seized 550 grammes of hashish, 100 grammes of mephedrone and 2 kg of opium extract. According to Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the operation prevented 26,300 doses of narcotic substances from reaching the public.
The operation was carried out as part of a large-scale month-long campaign of operational and preventive measures entitled “A Safe and Healthy Country”. It involved officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Operational Investigations Department and the State Security Service.
The first operation took place in Tashkent’s Sergeli district. Members of the group who served as warehouse operators in the drug trafficking network were detained. They used a Matiz car to distribute drugs through so-called “dead drops”.
Fifty individual packages of hashish were seized from a married couple born in 1996 and 1999, and their accomplice, born in 2000. A search of their rented accommodation in the Chilanzar district uncovered another 450 grammes of hashish, 100 grammes of mephedrone, 1,000 zip-lock bags, two electronic scales and insulating tape.
Operational activities then continued in the Kibray district of Tashkent Region. Officers identified a man previously convicted of robbery and fraud who, according to investigators, worked as a drug courier using dead drops. Hashish was found during a search of his car at the Koramurt checkpoint.
The next stage of the operation took place in the Mirzo-Ulugbek district of the capital. A search of a residential property where suspected members of the organised group were staying uncovered 2 kg of opium extract in two plastic containers, 40 grammes of hashish, electronic scales, 1,000 zip-lock bags, a metal container used to prepare narcotic substances and other equipment.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, some of those detained had previous convictions. One of them, born in 1987, administered an online shop selling drugs. His accomplice had also faced criminal prosecution several times.
A criminal case has been opened under Part 5 of Article 273 of Uzbekistan’s Criminal Code. The investigation aims to establish all the circumstances of the group’s activities and identify everyone involved.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs urged citizens to report suspicious individuals and incidents involving drug trafficking through the STOPNARKO Telegram bot.
The ministry said operational and preventive measures to combat crimes involving narcotic and psychotropic substances are continuing across the country.
