28 detained in Georgia drug sweep with cannabis seized
Georgia's Interior Ministry detained 28 people on drug charges, including 16 accused dealers, after joint operations with the Prosecutor General's Office. Searches recovered marijuana and cannabis plants among cocaine, heroin and other drugs, with charges carrying up to life imprisonment.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry said 28 people were detained on drug charges after
operational and investigative measures carried out with the Prosecutor General’s
Office.[1]Sixteen of those detained were described as drug dealers.[1]Those arrested included Georgian and foreign citizens.[2]
Sixteen people were detained for illegal sale, attempted sale and preparation
for sale of large and especially large amounts of narcotics, including
marijuana.[1]Twelve other people, including four foreigners, were detained
for illegal acquisition and storage of large amounts of drugs and psychotropic
substances including marijuana, illegal import into Georgia, and illegal growing
and cultivation of narcotic-containing plants.[1]Police made several
controlled drug purchases from those held on sale charges under judges’ orders
and secretly audio- and video-recorded the purchases.[1]Searches of the
detainees, their homes and places they indicated recovered large quantities of
drugs as evidence, listed as cocaine, heroin, Alpha-PVP, methadone, MDMA,
mephedrone, lysergide, ketamine, buprenorphine, Subutex, ecstasy,
methamphetamine, marijuana and cannabis plants.[1]
The investigation is proceeding under articles 260, 261, 262, 265, 18-260,
19-260, 273 prima and 19-273 prima of Georgia’s Criminal Code.[1]The alleged
offences carry up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
28
Agency type
Police, Prosecutor
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis; Living plants
Activity
Sale, Cultivation
Setting
Prison
Case stage
Sentenced
Sentence
Life imprisonment
Sources
Civil Georgiacivil.geRUМВД Грузии задержало 28 человек за наркопреступления, в том числе 16 наркоторговцев
No weight for the marijuana and no count for the cannabis plants were published, so no kilograms or plant numbers can be recorded.
No breakdown shows how many of the 28 were held for cannabis as opposed to the other listed substances.
The operation was carried out over an unspecified recent period; 30 July 2024 is the announcement and publication date used as the incident date.
No names, custody decisions or court outcomes were reported; the investigation was still under way.
Cocaine, heroin, Alpha-PVP, methadone, MDMA, mephedrone, lysergide, ketamine, buprenorphine, Subutex, ecstasy and methamphetamine are mentioned only to explain the mixed seizure and are excluded from cannabis figures.
The English edition says the 16 included eight foreigners while the Russian edition says the 12 included four foreigners, a discrepancy in the foreign-national breakdown that the report does not resolve.
Only Civil Georgia's Russian and English editions of the same account were opened; the linked Interior Ministry statement could not be reopened and no second independent outlet was found.
Georgia's Central Criminal Police detained seven Georgian and foreign nationals in Tbilisi on charges of large-scale drug acquisition, storage and facilitation of sale. Searches recovered dried marijuana and THC alongside synthetic drugs, with the charges carrying up to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.
Police in Georgia detained two people in separate operations, including a controlled delivery of a parcel from abroad that held about 200 THC capsules. The second detention at Tbilisi airport involved methadone and buprenorphine, with both cases investigated as especially large-scale import punishable by up to life imprisonment.
Police detained a foreign truck driver at the Lagodekhi border crossing after finding nearly 12 kilograms of marijuana hidden in the cab. The suspect faces illegal purchase, possession and import charges that carry up to 20 years or life imprisonment.
Georgia's Central Criminal Police detained seven Georgian and foreign nationals on drug charges, seizing up to 4 kg of marijuana and 21 cannabis plants alongside other drugs. The investigation under articles carrying up to life imprisonment was still under way with no court outcome reported.