Tbilisi Police Chief: 119 arrested in nationwide drug crackdown

Tbilisi Police Department Director Vazha Siradze on Wednesday said 119 people, including 49 suspected drug dealers, had been arrested on drug-related charges during police operations conducted across Tbilisi and other regions of Georgia over the past 48 hours.

According to Siradze, those detained include both Georgian citizens and foreign nationals.

“During searches of the suspects, their vehicles and residences, as well as at locations identified by them, law enforcement officers seized particularly large quantities of various narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as evidence, including heroin, cocaine, alpha-PVP, methadone, mephedrone, buprenorphine and other illegal substances”, he said.

As part of preventive policing measures and investigative activities, officers also seized materials used for packaging narcotics, money believed to have been obtained through drug sales, and a large quantity of firearms and ammunition.

Based on court orders, law enforcement officers carried out multiple controlled purchases of narcotics from individuals arrested on charges of illegal drug trafficking and covertly recorded these transactions using audio and video equipment. Evidence obtained during the investigation indicates that the detained drug dealers had been systematically selling narcotics to citizens in exchange for money.

The investigation is being conducted under Articles 260, 260³, 260⁴, 265 and 236 of Georgia’s Criminal Code, offences punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment or life imprisonment.

“Police units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs continue their uncompromising fight against organized crime, including drug-related offences, throughout the country. I would like to thank every employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for successfully carrying out these police operations”, Siradze concluded.