Seven arrested in Georgia over large-scale drug trafficking

Georgia’s Central Criminal Police Department has arrested seven people on charges related to the illegal acquisition, possession and sale of particularly large quantities of drugs, facilitating their sale and illegally cultivating plants containing narcotic substances, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

Investigators established that the suspects placed drugs at pre-selected locations and then sent interested buyers the relevant coordinates and photos identifying the locations.

As part of the investigation, police conducted controlled purchases of drugs from one of the suspects under a court order and secretly recorded the transactions, the ministry said.

In another case, officers replaced a package sent to a suspect in his name as part of an operation to expose him and seized a large quantity of drugs as evidence.

Police also searched the suspects and their temporary residences, as well as locations they had identified, and seized particularly large quantities of various drugs prepared for sale. These included methadone, Alpha-PVP, buprenorphine, marijuana and cannabis plants.

Investigators also seized materials used for packaging drugs.

The offences carrying sentences of up to 20 years or life imprisonment.