The Minister of Internal Affairs, Ramazon Rahimzoda, confirmed to journalists the arrest and extradition of Ibrohim Safarov, known by the nickname “Boim,” whose name has repeatedly surfaced in connection with drug trafficking and transportation.

Speaking at a news conference in Dushanbe, the minister stated on February 13 that Safarov is suspected of distributing and transporting narcotic substances.

Rahimzoda reported that Ibrohim Safarov, wanted in a drug trafficking case, was detained in Turkiye and extradited to Tajikistan.  A total of 15 criminal cases have reportedly been initiated against him.

“He was on the wanted list. Fifteen criminal cases have been initiated against him in connection with drug-related offenses.  Previously, he had been held accountable in Russia.  After his release, he resided in Turkiye, where he was detained for further prosecution and delivered to Tajikistan,” Rahimzoda stated.

The minister did not specify under which exact article of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code Safarov is being prosecuted.

Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, reported in early December last year that a fifty-three-year-old Ibrohim Safarov was extradited to Tajikistan in early October last year.  He has been charged with creating a network for selling ecstasy pills and possessing weapons.    

In the past, Safarov, whom Russian media dubbed the “Tajik Pablo Escobar,” was repeatedly linked to the transportation and sale of large consignments of narcotics.

In 2006, he was arrested in Russia with over 200 kilograms of heroin and sentenced to 19 years in prison.

In 2020, Safarov announced on his Facebook page that he had been released.   The conditions of his early release remain unknown.

After his release, he reportedly moved to Turkiye and from there organized a drug distribution network in Tajikistan.  About ten members of his group were arrested, and he was on the wanted list.  

In July last year, Tajikistan's Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested a 28-year-old Dushanbe resident Komron Hamroyev on suspicion of selling ecstasy pills.

The ministry reported that Hamroyev was a close relative of “Boim” and sold drugs in Dushanbe under his orders.

At the time, the Interior Ministry claimed that “Boim's group” sold drugs via social media platforms.