Two men held in Estonia over Tartu drug dealing that included cannabis
Police detained a 30-year-old and a 28-year-old man in Harju County on 3 November 2026 on suspicion of selling drugs, including cannabis, in Tartu and Tartu County. A court remanded both in custody, and searches of their cars and the older man's Tartu home turned up drugs, drug-handling items and a weapon-like object with cartridges.
🇪🇪 Harjumaa, Estonia
·
Agencies
Lõuna prefektuur (South Prefecture), Lõuna ringkonnaprokuratuur (South District Prosecutor's Office)
Police arrested a 30-year-old and a 28-year-old man on suspicion of handling
large quantities of narcotic substances in Tartu and Tartu County in October and
November 2026.[1]The two were detained on the evening of 3 November in Harju
County.[1]
Prosecutor Ingmar Laas said that, on current information, the men bought and
resold highly potent and dangerous alpha-PVP as well as amphetamine, MDMA,
cannabis and oxycodone.[1]During the investigation police searched the
suspects’ vehicles and the 30-year-old man’s home in Tartu, finding various
substances and tablets believed to be narcotics and items used for handling or
taking drugs.[1]Tartu Postimees reported that officers found a weapon as well
as drugs of several kinds in the men’s homes and cars.[2]
Vosman said police had received information from several sources about possible
dealers operating in Tartu and detained the two when the right moment came.[1]Laas said the 28-year-old was due to start serving a previously imposed prison
sentence in November, and that the activity was not isolated but lasted a longer
period.[1]The South Prefecture is conducting the pre-trial investigation
under the South District Prosecutor’s Office.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Agencies
Lõuna prefektuur (South Prefecture); Lõuna ringkonnaprokuratuur (South District Prosecutor's Office)
Police published no weight or quantity for the substances seized, so no cannabis amount can be recorded; the substances' exact composition was to be established by expert examination.
The seized material is described only as various substances and tablets believed to be narcotics; the cannabis element is named in the prosecutor's account of dealings, not tied to a specific seized quantity.
The arrest happened in Harju County while the suspected dealing was in Tartu and Tartu County; Harju County is the most precise place named for the detention and is recorded at regional precision.
Tartu Postimees reports a weapon was found and refers to searches in the homes of both suspects, while the police statement describes searches of the suspects' vehicles and the 30-year-old's home in Tartu; the police statement's wording is used.
Only the men's ages were released, and no charges, trial date or court outcome beyond the custody order were reported.
The prosecutor's reference to a previous prison sentence for the 28-year-old gives no details of that sentence or its length.
The Lõunaeestlane and Atlantiz texts reproduce the Police and Border Guard Board statement, so they are not independent reporting; Tartu Postimees is a shortened version of the same announcement, and its page ran only two paragraphs.
A reflect.ee article on the same custody decision could not be read because its content is rendered by JavaScript, so it is not cited.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Atlantiz: Both men were remanded in custody by a court at the request of the prosecutor's office.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet: The head of the South Prefecture criminal bureau, Rain Vosman, said the searches turned up a weapon-like object with cartridges, which he said showed the suspects were dangerous.
Left out force, as its quotation was not found in Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet.
Left out arrested, as its only supporting source is not cited by the report's text.
Estonia's Tax and Customs Board stopped nearly 79 kilograms of narcotic and psychotropic substances crossing the border in the first nine months of 2026, with cannabis and cannabis products the largest share at 42.7 kilograms. The board put the haul at hundreds of thousands of doses and said new psychoactive substance seizures had more than doubled on the same period of 2025.
Police in Tallinn arrested a 27-year-old Uzbek citizen suspected of large-scale drug dealing through Telegram and stash locations. Officers found mixed narcotics including cannabis and hashish in his rented flat, and a court ordered him held in custody during the investigation.
Ida Prefecture police arrested a 48-year-old man in Kohtla-Järve the week before 18 September 2026 and found a tent with 17 cannabis plants, grow gear and mixed drugs in his apartment; prosecutors secured two months' pre-trial detention.
Harju County Court sentenced Meelis Pähnat to four and a half years and Serafim Gerzuni to five years (nine months immediate) on 2 September 2026 after police found about 30 kg of cannabis and buds at a professional grow in a rented distillery building at Valli manor, Kose.
Charged 2Cannabis 30 kgPrison 4.5 years and 5 years (nine months immediate for Gerzuni)
