The activities of a transnational group supplying drugs from Kyrgyzstan have been stopped in Uzbekistan. Podrobno.uz reported, citing law enforcement agencies.
The operation was carried out by officers from the Operational and Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, together with the State Security Service and the Customs Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan. According to investigators, the smuggling route operated through Buston district of Andijan region.
Four men were detained when retrieving a drug stash. They were attempting to take 9,447 kilograms of hashish from the stash in a field. The drugs were buried and intended for further transportation.
The investigation established that the operation was coordinated from abroad. One of the organizers in Uzbekistan acted on instructions from a citizen residing in Kyrgyzstan.
The couriers were given the geolocation of the stash and instructed to distribute the drugs for retail sale in other areas of the region.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, more than 94,470 single doses never reached consumers. The seized hashish has been added to the criminal case file as evidence.
A criminal case has been opened against those detained under Part 5 of Article 273 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (Illegal sale of narcotics in large quantities). The penalty under this article is from 10 to 20 years in prison.
Investigative operations are ongoing.
