The key facts

  • Two members of an online drug store born in 2002 — a 'dropper' and a 'storekeeper' — were detained in Tashkent
  • A drug laboratory was found in a rented apartment in the Dumbrabad mahalla, where cookies and marmalade with hashish oil were made
  • About 6 kg of drugs and equipment were seized; the case was opened under Part 5 of Article 273 of the Criminal Code

Detentions in Yashnabad and Chilanzar

In Tashkent, as part of the third stage of the operational-preventive operation 'Safe and Healthy Country', which is being held across the republic, a drug laboratory was uncovered. The operation was carried out by officers of the Operational Search Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its territorial subdivisions, and the State Security Service, as reported by Zamon.uz citing the agency, and later by the capital's city police department in a publication by Kun.uz.

What and where was seized

First, a man born in 2002 was stopped and checked in the Yashnabad district — he worked as a 'dropper' for an online drug store; he was found with 74 grams of hashish oil in 58 packages intended for distribution. Further measures established that he regularly received drugs from the store's 'storekeeper'. The operation then moved to the Dumbrabad mahalla in the Chilanzar district, where the storekeeper had set up a drug laboratory in a rented apartment.

Confectionery with drugs

From the apartment, 3.5 kg of hashish oil, 361 packages with a total weight of 350 grams intended for distribution as 'drops', 600 grams of hashish, cookies made from 1.5 kg of hashish oil, and marmalade with hashish oil — four packages according to Kun.uz — were seized. That is, the laboratory was engaged not only in packaging but also in producing sweets with drugs — a form designed for covert transfer. Also seized were gloves, syringes, zip bags, scales, tape, and 500 empty vials. The total weight of the seized items amounted to about 6 kg of narcotic substances.

Assessment of the seizure and the case

The outlets differ in their assessment of the scale: Zamon.uz writes that the total value of the seized narcotics is estimated at $19,250, while Kun.uz, citing the city police department, names 19,250 doses to which the seized 6 kg correspond. Zamon.uz also states that the 'storekeeper' was born 'this year', which is apparently a typo, since Kun.uz reports that both detainees were born in 2002. A criminal case has been opened: Zamon.uz specifies — under Part 5 of Article 273 of the Criminal Code. The Ministry of Internal Affairs asks citizens with information about suspicious individuals to contact the 'Stopnarkotik' bot on Telegram; preventive measures are continuing across the republic.