Police detained a 56-year-old woman in Bektemir district, Tashkent, after finding hashish hidden inside a child’s doll she was carrying.[1] The detention took place during a raid by officers of the cybercrime department of the Tashkent regional police and the Nurafshan police.[1] Acting on an online tip about drug transport, operatives stopped a Nexia 3 and searched the woman’s belongings.[1] The driver, who was working through Yandex Taxi, told officers he was seeing the passenger for the first time.[2]

In one bag officers noticed a doll that felt suspiciously heavy, and after opening it found eight packs of dark-brown hashish with a pungent smell in its head, each pack weighing 100 to 150 grams.[1] The total weight of the hashish hidden in the doll was reported as up to 1.2 kg.[1] Investigators said the woman had obtained the drugs in Fergana region and was transporting them to Tashkent for sale.[2] In a video released by the Interior Ministry, the woman said an acquaintance had promised to pay her 200 dollars to hand over the packages.[1]

Police opened a criminal case under part 6 of Article 273 of the Criminal Code, which covers large-scale and organized-group sale using telecommunications or the Internet and carries 15 to 20 years in prison.[1] The investigation is continuing to establish the source of the drugs and other circumstances.[2]