Up to 10 Kilograms of Various Drugs Seized in Batumi; Five Arrested, Including Four Foreign Nationals

Five individuals, including four foreign nationals and one Georgian citizen, have been arrested in Batumi on charges of illegally purchasing and possessing especially large quantities of narcotic drugs, facilitating drug distribution, and unlawfully cultivating narcotic plants, Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) said.

According to the MIA, officers from the Adjara Main Division of the Central Criminal Police Department conducted a series of operations during which they searched the suspects, their temporary residences, and a vehicle.

Law enforcement officers seized especially large quantities of various narcotic substances prepared for distribution, including 100 grams and 127 individually packaged doses of methadone, more than one kilogram of marijuana, up to half a kilogram of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and nearly eight kilograms of cannabis plants.

The investigation also established that one of the suspects had set up a specially equipped indoor greenhouse in a rented apartment in Batumi, where cannabis plants were allegedly being illegally cultivated for future distribution.

Police additionally confiscated materials used for packaging narcotic substances as evidence.

The investigation is being conducted under Articles 260, 260¹ (Quart), and 265¹ (Prima) of Georgia’s Criminal Code. The offenses are punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment or life imprisonment, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated.