Azerbaijan seizes 5.3 tonnes of marijuana in seven months
Between January and July 2026 Azerbaijan took 6,223 kg of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances out of circulation, valued at 187.2 million manat, including 5,307 kg of marijuana, 247 kg of hashish and 12,715 cannabis bushes, the State Commission's working group reported. Officers also destroyed 3,960,601 wild drug-containing plants on 1,167.2 hectares.
Between January and July 2026, Azerbaijani authorities recorded 4,963 drug
crimes during comprehensive operational and investigative measures against drug
addiction and trafficking, according to the working group of the State
Commission on combating drug addiction and illegal drug circulation.[1]Of
those cases, 1,250 involved illegal sale of drugs, 3,613 illegal acquisition and
storage, 97 illegal sowing and cultivation of drug-containing plants, and three
other crimes in the category.[1]Compared with January-July 2025, the volume
of other narcoticsseized in the same period of 2026 fell by 13 kg395.167 g, or
9.7%.[1]
Officers took 6 tons223 kg519.057 g of narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances out of circulation in the detected cases, which the authorities
valued at 187 million 200 thousand manat.[1]Marijuana accounted for 5 tons307 kg260.329 g of that total and hashish for 247 kg630.147 g, alongside 257
kg073.146 g of heroin, 124 kg912.418 g of opium and psychotropic substances.[1]Officers also found and seized 12,715 cannabis bushes, 34,983 methadone
tablets and quantities of potent and toxic substances.[1]
In operations organised by the Interior Ministry with other agencies, 3,960,601
wild drug-containing plants weighing 327 tons716 kg were found and destroyed on
1,167.2 hectares.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Plants destroyed
12,715
Cannabis
5.307260329 t
Agency type
Police
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis; Hashish
Activity
Trafficking, Cultivation
Setting
Field
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
Caliber.Azcaliber.azRUВ Азербайджане изъяты наркотики на десятки миллионов: подробности
Open questions the AI reported
17 August 2026 is the article publication date and is used as the incident date; the figures cover January-July 2026 with no separate operation dates published.
The 6,223.519057 kg total and the 187.2 million manat value cover all narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, so only the separately stated marijuana and hashish weights are recorded as cannabis kilograms.
The 3,960,601 wild plants, their 327,716 kg mass and the 1,167.2 hectares are described only as drug-containing plants and are not identified as cannabis, so no hectares and no additional kilograms are recorded for them.
No number of people arrested or charged during the seven months was published.
The 97 cultivation cases are a crime count, not a number of people or plants, and are not recorded as cannabis figures.
Only one opened source could be used; searches in Russian, English and Azerbaijani found no second accessible account of this seven-month total.
The text gives an area ("1,167.2 hectares") but the figures have no hectares; check whether it belongs there.
Between January and September 2026 Azerbaijan seized 8.4 tonnes of drugs, including 7,236 kg of marijuana, 253 kg of hashish and 21,355 cannabis plants, the State Commission reported. Police detected 6,247 drug cases and held 4,352 people criminally liable, while the Interior Ministry put its own nine-month seizures at 6,443 kg.
Charged 4,352Plants destroyed 21,355Cannabis 7.49053271 t
Customs officers at South Astara found 97.685 kilograms of cannabis in 90 packages hidden under lettuce on a truck travelling from Iran to Russia. A customs dog indicated the pallet during an inspection, and the State Customs Committee reported that an investigation was under way.
In January–August 2026 the authorities recorded 5,561 drug crimes and seized 6,994.958 kg of narcotics and psychotropic substances, valued at 208.47 million manat, the State Commission for Combating Drug Addiction reported. Marijuana accounted for 5,928.805 kg and hashish for 247.630 kg, and officers also took 17,372 cannabis plants out of circulation.
Officers at the Bilasuvar customs post found 25 kg 570 g of dried marijuana in 80 packages hidden in the pallets of a lorry carrying onions from Iran to Russia via Azerbaijan. The State Customs Committee said an investigation was under way, and no arrest was reported.
