Georgia detains 88 people in nationwide anti-drug operation, Deputy Interior Minister

Georgia’s Interior Ministry on Thursday said police had detained 88 people on drug-related charges during a large-scale operation carried out over the past 24 hours in Tbilisi and across the country’s regions.

Speaking to reporters, Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said law enforcement officers seized a particularly large quantity of various narcotic and psychotropic substances, as well as firearms, automatic weapons and cash believed to have been obtained through illegal drug sales.

The ministry said those detained include both Georgian and foreign nationals.

According to investigators, evidence gathered during intensive investigative actions indicated that the detained suspects were systematically selling drugs to members of the public.

Police carried out controlled drug purchases authorised by court orders and conducted searches of suspects, their vehicles and residential properties. As a result, officers seized large quantities of drugs, including cocaine, heroin, alpha-PVP, buprenorphine, methadone, morphine, MDMA and dried marijuana. Materials used for packaging narcotics were also confiscated.

The investigation is being conducted under multiple articles of Georgia’s Criminal Code, including provisions related to illegal drug trafficking and firearms offences. These charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.

The Interior Ministry said that, as part of its ongoing campaign against drug crime, more than 5,000 people have been detained and prosecuted nationwide for narcotics offences over the past seven months, including around 2,000 individuals involved in drug distribution.

The ministry said police units across the country continue to carry out operations against drug-related crime on a constant basis, warning that anyone who endangers public safety - particularly the lives and health of young people - will face the full force of the law.