Three arrested in Georgia over large-scale drug trafficking, including foreign nationals

Georgian law enforcement on Monday said they had detained three people, including two foreign nationals, on charges of large-scale drug trafficking and smuggling.

The Interior Ministry announced that the arrests followed a complex investigation carried out by officers from the Shida Kartli Police Department in central Georgia. Those detained are accused of illegally acquiring, storing, and facilitating the distribution of narcotics, as well as attempting to smuggle drugs into Georgia.

During the operation, police seized nearly two kilograms of methadone and about half a kilogram of the synthetic drug Alpha-PVP.

One suspect, a Georgian citizen born in 1985 and previously convicted, was arrested in Gori after police discovered half a kilogram of Alpha-PVP in his possession. Investigators later uncovered a broader criminal scheme involving two other suspects.

According to the ministry, a Russian citizen, born in 1984, brought almost two kilograms of methadone into Georgia using a truck and handed it over to a 21-year-old Azerbaijani citizen for further distribution. The drugs were later found hidden inside a metal component in the boot of a car driven by the Azerbaijani suspect.

Police said the offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.