40kg of drugs seized in Georgia

Georgian police have seized nearly 40kg of drugs with an estimated value of more than 14 million lari ($5.2m), the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

Two foreign nationals have been arrested. The arrests followed a series of operational and investigative measures carried out by officers from the Interior Ministry's Imereti Police Department.

Police said the suspects were involved in a scheme to distribute drugs across several regions of Georgia. They allegedly placed the drugs at pre-selected locations and then sent the coordinates and photographs of the locations to potential buyers.

During searches of the suspects and locations identified by them, officers seized 117 packages containing nearly 12kg of methadone and 267 packages containing nearly 28kg of hashish, the ministry said.

The total amount seized was estimated to have a black-market value of more than 14 million lari.

The Interior Ministry said the offences can carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.