Law enforcement busts drug networks, seizes 100 kg of narcotics

In a joint operation, SSS and Internal Affairs Department officers in Surkhandarya region detained a previously convicted resident of the Sariosiyo district, born in 1977. He was caught attempting to conceal 82 kg and 478 g of opium in an unoccupied building on a local farm. The drugs had been stashed in a hiding spot in the Uzun district by drug couriers from Tajikistan. It was established that the suspect had been tasked with delivering the narcotics to a designated location on behalf of a Tajik drug trafficker for a payment of $2,000.

In another joint operation by SSS and Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel in the Kasansay district of Namangan region, a citizen born in 2001 was apprehended for distributing synthetic drugs by planting them in "drop-off" locations. Investigations revealed that he had set up a drug laboratory in his mother-in-law’s house, where authorities seized 9 kg and 450 g of the synthetic drug mephedrone during a search. Additionally, 595 g of the same substance was found and confiscated from hiding spots he had prepared for clients.

In a separate case in Tashkent, SSS and Customs Committee officers arrested two individuals from Kashkadarya region. They had received 7 kg and 313 g of the narcotic "5-Fluoro-ADB" from Russia via mail, concealed in plastic containers disguised as other goods. It was determined that they were instructed via WhatsApp by an unknown individual to transport the illicit substance from Tashkent to Samarkand region for $500.

As the operation continued, two more individuals, born in 2001 and 2002, were detained in the Pastdargom district after receiving the drugs in Samarkand region. A search of one suspect’s home in Samarkand uncovered a hidden laboratory used to produce synthetic narcotics.

Criminal cases have been initiated under relevant articles of the Criminal Code for all aforementioned incidents. The detained individuals have been placed in custody, and investigations are ongoing.