Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry reported the detention of nine people on suspicion of smuggling drugs abroad.[1][2][3] The ministry says all nine belonged to one drug group that had moved more than half a tonne of drugs abroad over the past year.[1] The suspects were named as 44-year-old Muzafar Azamov, 40-year-old Farkhod Nordzhigitov, 44-year-old Abdushukur Dzhuraboev and 41-year-old Bilol Turonov from Matchinsky district, 38-year-old Safarali Nurov, 47-year-old Jamshed Uzakov and 31-year-old Faridun Tolibov from Dushanbe, and 36-year-old Farkhod Azizov and 22-year-old Khushbakht Solekhzoda from Varzob district.[1] Azamov, described by the ministry as the group’s ringleader, says he created the group in 2025 after release from prison and names several other people as helpers in transport and sale.[1]

Officers found and seized 24 kg of hashish from a cache in Matchinsky district.[1][3] The ministry said the drugs had been brought by smugglers from Afghanistan into Tajikistan for onward shipment abroad.[1] The ministry’s message does not say to which country the drugs were being sent.[1] Azamov states that from 2025 until now the group transported hashish 20 to 25 times, totalling about 550 to 600 kilograms.[1] One detainee says in the ministry’s video that they were promised 2,500 dollars for carrying each bag across the border.[1]

The ministry says a criminal case was opened against the suspects for drug trafficking under part 4 of Article 200 of Tajikistan’s Criminal Code and they were remanded in custody.[1] That article carries 12 to 20 years’ imprisonment.[1] The positions of the detainees and their relatives on the case are not known.[1]

The ministry said he formed the group after being released from prison in 2025.[3] The Kabul Tribune reports that the nine suspects could face 12 to 20 years in prison if convicted.[3]