Georgian police arrest 121 people in nationwide anti-drug operation

Georgian police have arrested 121 people on drug-related charges in a nationwide operation, including 59 suspects allegedly involved in drug trafficking, the Interior Ministry said.

David Kiknadze, director of the Central Criminal Police Department, said on Wednesday those detained included both Georgian and foreign nationals.

Police carried out multiple controlled drug purchases under court authorisation and secretly recorded the operations using audio and video equipment, Kiknadze said.

Investigators also intercepted disguised parcels addressed to suspects, replacing them before delivery and seizing particularly large quantities of narcotics as evidence.

Searches of suspects, their homes and vehicles, as well as investigative experiments, led to the seizure of large quantities of drugs allegedly prepared for sale, including methadone, alpha-PVP, cocaine, ketamine, buprenorphine, marijuana and cannabis plants.

Police also confiscated packaging materials, electronic scales and cash believed to have been obtained through drug sales.

The investigation is being conducted under several articles of Georgia’s Criminal Code covering the illegal purchase, possession, trafficking and cultivation of narcotic drugs. The offences carry penalties of up to 20 years' imprisonment or life imprisonment.

Kiknadze said nearly 5,000 people had been prosecuted for drug-related offences during the first six months of the year, including about 1,000 people allegedly involved in drug trafficking. He said the total number of people prosecuted for drug offences had increased by 85% compared with the same period last year.

“The Interior Ministry will continue its uncompromising fight against drug crime, and the strictest measures provided by law will continue to be applied against those involved in drug trafficking,” Kiknadze said.