An organized criminal group of four drug traffickers has been detained in Dushanbe, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the capital told Asia-Plus.

"As a result of the operation, employees of the Department for combating Drug trafficking of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dushanbe found and confiscated 179 kilograms of the narcotic drug hashish," the department said.

During the investigation, Iso Aripov and Nurali Nazarov were detained in the capital. Subsequently, after operational search measures, two more of their accomplices, Davron Khakimov and Alisher Kabirov, were detained. The drugs were hidden partly in Hissar underground, partly in Farkhor. The criminals planned to sell this shipment abroad.

A criminal case has been opened against the detainees under part 4 of 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 Tatarstan. They face imprisonment for a term of 8 to 20 years. The preliminary investigation is ongoing.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the capital noted that law enforcement agencies are actively working to prevent such crimes, including by raising awareness among young people about the dangers of drugs. Special attention is paid to preventive measures aimed at protecting young people from being involved in drug trafficking and drug use.

According to the Drug Control Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan, in the first half of 2024, more than 3 tons of 96 kg of drugs were seized in the country, which is 619 kg (25%) more than in the same period of 2023.

The bulk of these substances were confiscated in the Khatlon region, especially in the border areas where drugs are smuggled from Afghanistan. During the reporting period, over 1.38 tons of drugs were seized in this region, which is 44.6% of the total volume of substances seized in the country.

In the first six months of this year, more than 13.7 thousand tablets of psychotropic drugs were also seized in Tajikistan, which is 4.6 times more (by 10.7 thousand tablets) than in the same period last year.