Police seize up to 80 kg of heroin from Iranian citizen in Poti

Georgian police have detained an Iranian citizen for illegal purchase, possession and attempted smuggling of a large amount of drugs through western Georgia's port city of Poti, the Head of the Central Criminal Police Department said on Thursday.

Teimuraz Kupatadze said law enforcement had confiscated 315 packages of heroin, weighing in at 80 kilograms, following a search of the individual’s vehicle, with the items found in a concealed compartment. 

He added the offender had intended to smuggle the drugs from Iran to Europe via Armenia and Georgia, and now faces up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted within the joint Container Control Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organisation.

Kupatadze also said the Interior Ministry’s cooperation with partner states had resulted in a joint police operation last month with Belgian and Dutch colleagues, which seized one tonne and 660 kilograms of heroin.