Police arrest 270 on drug violations across Georgia

Georgian police on Friday said law enforcement officers had arrested 270 individuals on drug-related charges, including 27 for drug-dealing, across the country since the beginning of the year.

Teimuraz Kupatadze, the Head of the Central Criminal Police Department, said the arrested individuals included nationals from Georgia, Turkey, Armenia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, Jordan, Iraq and the Netherlands. 

I want to clarify that among the arrested are drug dealers who were selling drugs using the traditional hand-to-hand dealing method. Additionally, the so-called drug placers are arrested who used the method of placing drugs in different locations. Among the arrested are also persons illegally importing drugs across the borders and smuggling various types of narcotics into the country”, Kupatadze noted.

He said police officers had seized “large and especially large” amounts of narcotic and psychotropic drugs including heroin, cocaine, Alpha PVP, Subutex, LSD, Amphetamine, Ecstasy, cannabis and other substances, from locations indicated by the offenders, as well as during searches of the individuals, their residential houses and vehicles related to them.

The Department Head also said police officers had seized money allegedly obtained from drug sales, as part of their efforts.

The offences are punishable by 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.

In his remarks regarding news recently spread in the local media on the drug situation in the country, Kupatadze said narcotic substances that entered the country were mainly by land and air, as well as through mail, and noted the Ministry together with the Customs Department of the Revenue Service, implemented “complex measures” in response to these challenges.

The Ministry is also “actively” cooperating with foreign colleagues to exchange information and reduce the facts of drug trafficking as much as possible, he added. 

In today's reality, along with technological development, drug dealing has moved to the Internet space. Communication with drug users takes place through the Internet without physical contact. Narcotics sold by the mentioned method are mainly synthetic drugs causing fatal consequences in people. In most cases, drug dealers involve young people in drug dealing schemes. They advertise vacancies on the Internet and by various methods offering solid payment”, he noted.

Kupatadze also stressed the Ministry was “constantly” identifying and processing the information on online stores in the darknet and various Telegram channels, conducting control purchases as well as various operational and investigative measures. “Measures and special activities” against the drug dealers involved in such schemes take a “particular period of time to find solid evidence, to technologically process a large amount of data, appoint and conduct examinations”, he added.