5 people charged in Georgia over large-scale drug offenses

Georgia’s Prosecutor’s Office on Monday charged five people, including foreign nationals, with the illegal acquisition and possession of particularly large quantities of narcotic drugs and facilitating their sale.

An investigation conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs established that the accused illegally acquired and stored large quantities of drugs at various times for the purpose of facilitating their distribution.

The seized substances included up to 125 grams of alpha-PVP, up to 150 grams of cocaine, and methadone packaged in 111 tablets and 119 separate packets. Some of the accused allegedly placed the drugs at various locations in the Imereti region. Law enforcement officers seized the narcotics.

The defendants have been charged under Article 260, Part 3(a), of Georgia’s Criminal Code, covering the illegal acquisition and possession of particularly large quantities of narcotic drugs, and Article 260⁴, Part 6(a), concerning facilitating the illegal sale of particularly large quantities of narcotics.

The offenses carry penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment or life imprisonment.

At the request of the Prosecutor’s Office, the court ordered pre-trial detention for all five defendants.