1. The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrested 270 people on charges of drug crimes, 27 of them are drug dealers. The director of the Central Criminal Police Department, Teimuraz Kupatadze, announced this at the briefing. According to him, citizens of Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Jordan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Iraq and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are detained.

"One of the main priorities for the Ministry of Internal Affairs is the fight against drug crime and the implementation of legal measures against drug dealers.

Since the beginning of this year, as a result of intensive operational measures and investigative actions carried out by the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia, 270 people have been arrested on charges of drug crimes, of which 27 are drug dealers.

I would like to clarify that among the arrested persons there are drug dealers who were selling narcotics using the traditional turn-key method. In addition, the so-called Drug dealers who used the method of placing drugs in different locations. Among those arrested, there are also persons illegally importing drugs across the border, who brought various types of narcotics into the country.

Citizens of Georgia, Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Jordan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, Iraq and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are detained.

On the basis of the judge's ruling, the police made control purchases of drugs from persons arrested on charges of illegal possession of drugs several times and secretly audio-video recorded these purchases.

As a result of operational measures and investigative actions conducted throughout the country, a large and especially large amount of narcotic and psychotropic substances were recovered as evidence from the locations specified by the defendants, as well as during the personal search of the detainees, their cars and homes: "Heroin", "Cocaine". Alpha PVP, Subotex, Suboxin, Methadone, MDMA, LSD, Mephedrone, Amphetamine, Ecstasy, Hashish, and the narcotic plant Cannabis.

The police also seized the money allegedly obtained from the sale of drugs as evidence from the defendants.

The investigation is being conducted according to the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of Georgia.

The crimes are punishable by up to 20 years or life imprisonment.

Here, I would like to make a small clarification regarding the stories published in the media recently and the questions that have arisen in the society regarding the drug situation in the country.

Narcotic drugs enter the country mainly by land and air, as well as through mail. In response to these challenges, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the Customs Department of the Revenue Service, implements complex measures 24 hours a day. An inter-departmental group consisting of representatives of various agencies has been created and monitoring of risky shipments is carried out in a coordinated manner on a daily basis, as a result of which the facts of the importation of narcotic drugs at the borders of Georgia are revealed.

In addition, the Ministry of Internal Affairs actively cooperates with foreign colleagues, with whom information is constantly exchanged, in order to reduce the facts of drug transit as much as possible.

In today's reality, along with technological development, the sale of drugs has moved to the Internet space. Communication with drug users takes place through the Internet without physical contact. The narcotics dyed in the mentioned way are artificial synthetic narcotic drugs that cause fatal consequences in users. In most cases, drug dealers involve young people in the key scheme, they advertise vacancies in the online space and by various methods and offer a solid salary.

I would like to point out that the above-mentioned activity is a serious crime, it does not mean only placing drugs in different locations, but it represents drug sales, for which the punishment is very severe and hundreds of people have been brought to criminal justice for similar cases.

At the same time, within the framework of the complex investigation, the search and confiscation of cash and real estate in bank accounts, which were obtained illegally as a result of drug trafficking, is constantly being carried out.

In addition, I would like to emphasize that we are constantly implementing the so-called Identifying online stores in the darknet and various Telegram channels, processing the received information, conducting control purchases and conducting various operational and investigative measures. Also within the limits of technological capabilities, the mentioned Telegram channels and other online stores are blocked and canceled.

It should be noted that the measures to be taken against the drug dealers involved in such schemes need some time to find solid evidence, to technologically process a large amount of data, to appoint and conduct examinations, so that the guilty persons can be held criminally responsible", said Teimuraz Kupatadze.