Georgia arrests eight on drug trafficking charges, including Turkish and Japanese nationals

Georgia's Central Criminal Police Department has arrested eight people, including citizens of Turkey and Japan, on charges related to the illegal purchase, possession, import and distribution of large quantities of narcotics, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Saturday.

The body added searches of the suspects and their residences, as well as investigative experiments, led to the seizure of large quantities of drugs allegedly prepared for sale, including cocaine, methadone, buprenorphine, methamphetamine, opium, amphetamine, marijuana, cannabis plants and nearly 300 pregabalin tablets.

The Ministry said some of the suspects were identified through a joint operation conducted by the Central Criminal Police Department and the Revenue Service's Customs Department, during which authorities substituted parcels addressed to the suspects and seized large quantities of narcotics as evidence.

Police also confiscated materials allegedly used for packaging drugs.

The charges carry penalties of up to 20 years' imprisonment or life in prison.