Employees of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Shohmansur district in Dushanbe detained two members of a transnational drug trafficking group, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the city reported.

The suspects Javlonbek Sharipov and Nozim Rahimjonov are residents of the city of Istaravshan. During the detention, 50 kilograms of “hashish” were found and confiscated from them, the department noted.

A criminal case has been opened against the detainees under article 200 ("Illegal trafficking of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances or their analogues for the purpose of sale") of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan. This article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a period of 5 to 20 years.

"Operational search measures to identify and detain other members of the criminal group are continuing," the Ministry of Internal Affairs added.

This is not the first case of drug seizure in the capital of Tajikistan in the last month. So, in mid-August, employees of the Department for combating drug trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dushanbe detained a group of four people, from whom they seized a total of 179 kilograms of hashish.

According to the Drug Control Agency of the Republic of Tajikistan, in the first half of 2024, more than 3 tons 96 kilograms of drugs were seized in the country, which is 619 kilograms (25%) more than in the same period of 2023. The largest volume – over 1.38 tons of drugs – falls on the Khatlon region of the Republic of Tajikistan. The main part of the seized drugs came to the republic from Afghanistan. Also, in the first six months of the year, more than 13.7 thousand tablets of psychotropic drugs were confiscated, which is 4.6 times more than in January-June last year.