Five foreign citizens arrested in Georgia over alleged large-scale drug offences

Five foreign nationals have been detained in Georgia on suspicion of illegally possessing, selling and facilitating the sale of particularly large quantities of narcotics, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

Officers from the ministry’s Kvemo Kartli and Patrol Police departments carried out the arrests as part of an investigation into alleged drug offences.

Searches of the suspects and their temporary residences, as well as locations they identified, resulted in the seizure of particularly large quantities of drugs allegedly prepared for sale, including cocaine, hashish and opium.

Police also seized materials allegedly used to package drugs and money believed to have been obtained from drug sales.

The ministry said officers, acting under a court order, conducted a controlled purchase of narcotics from one of the suspects. The transaction was secretly recorded using audio and video equipment.

The offences carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.