Three people caught collecting opium from fields in Fergana

In the Fergana region, three individuals were arrested while collecting opium concealed in a field, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.

According to the statement, a rapid operation was conducted by officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Security Service, and the Customs Service. During the operation in Dangara district, Fergana, the three suspects were caught removing four packages of opium, each wrapped in polyethylene, that had been buried in a field near the Kokand-Tashkent highway.

As a result of the rapid investigative actions, it was revealed that a woman born in 1997, previously convicted for drug-related crimes, along with her criminal accomplices, citizens born in 1989 and 1974, are members of a transnational organized drug group. It is known that members of this group also operate in the Republics of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. During the operation, a total of 4 kilograms of opium were seized and documented as evidence. A criminal case has been initiated under Articles 246 (Smuggling) and 273, part 5 (Illegal production, acquisition, storage, or other actions with narcotic drugs, their analogs, or psychotropic substances, as well as their illegal transfer) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and investigative measures are ongoing.

’’The operation is ongoing to apprehend the remaining members of the criminal group,’’ the report stated.

It is worth noting that earlier, a joint international rapid-response operation was conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan, the State Security Service, and the Customs Service against transnational organized drug crime, resulting in the seizure of 111 kilograms of narcotic substances.