72.3 kg of hashish seized in fake potatoes at Termez border
Uzbek border troops and customs officers seized 72.3 kg of hashish hidden in 222 potato-shaped briquettes in a MAN truck arriving from Afghanistan at the Termez-Auto crossing. The 25-year-old driver from Termez district was inspected and the load, reportedly bound for Russia, was documented while an investigation began.
🇺🇿 Termez-Auto border customs checkpoint, Termez, Surkhandarya region · Uzbekistan
The seizure took place at the Tashkent-Termez highway border crossing in
southern Uzbekistan, reported as the Termez-Auto international checkpoint.[1]Border officers and customs officers stopped and inspected a MAN truck driven by
a 25-year-old man from Termez district.[1]The inspection was carried out
jointly by Border Troops of the State Security Service and customs authorities.[2]
A detailed search found 72.3 kg of hashish concealed in the cargo.[1]The
hashish had been shaped into 222 briquettes resembling potatoes in an apparent
attempt to avoid detection.[1]Border guards and customs officers in
Uzbekistan stopped an attempted transit of hashish from Afghanistan toward
Russia disguised as potatoes, as reported by the State Security Service press
centre.[3]
The truck had arrived from Afghanistan and the drugs were believed to be
intended for onward trafficking to Russia.[1]Officers documented the seized
narcotics under established procedures and an investigation was under way.[1]UNODC later described the same interception as a potato shipment that officers
selected for inspection based on profiling and X-ray screening.[4]
Photos and video
State Security Service photo of the 72.3 kg of hashish seized in 222 potato-shaped briquettes at the Termez-Auto border checkpoint. Photo: State Security ServicePhoto details
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Cannabis
72.3 kg
Agency type
Border guard, Customs
Cannabis
Hashish (72.3 kg)
Activity
Smuggling
Setting
Land border, Vehicle
Case stage
Under investigation
Region
Surkhandarya region
Route
Afghanistan → Russia via Termez-Auto border customs checkpoint
Date
Publication date
Sources
Kun.uzkun.uzCustoms officers seize hashish disguised as potatoes at Afghan border
Daryodaryo.uzUzbekistan seizes 72 kg of drugs hidden in potatoes at Afghan border
РИА Новостиria.ruRUВ Узбекистане пресекли транзит гашиша в Россию под видом картошки
UNODCunodc.orgOfficers at Ayritom border post in Uzbekistan seize over 260 kilograms of Hashish
Open questions the AI reported
The accounts give no separate date for the interception itself; 24 March 2026 is the date of the State Security Service announcement and of publication.
The reports do not say whether the driver was formally detained or charged after the truck was inspected, and no court outcome has been reported.
No street value estimate for the hashish was published.
All three March accounts reproduce the State Security Service announcement, so they are not independent reporting of the seizure.
The reported intention to send the load onward to Russia is preliminary information, and no recipients or organisers were identified.
Customs, State Security Service and police officers found 2 kilograms 875 grams of marijuana buried beneath the foundation of a home in Shofirkon district, Bukhara region. Customs opened a criminal case, and investigators are still working to identify the drug's source and anyone else involved in supplying it.
Officers in Namangan region seized 70 grams of hashish from the driver of a Nexia during a joint police and security-service operation. A criminal case on illegal drug trafficking was opened and the investigation continues.
State Security Service and Tashkent police searched two containers on a leased farm plot in Qibray around 19 October 2026, seizing 7 kg of dry marijuana kept for sale plus an IZH-38 pneumatic weapon and three cartridges; the previously convicted keeper, born 1986, faces a pre-investigation check.
On the evening of 1 October 2026, Uzbek customs at the Ayritom border post found 98 packages hidden under the trailer floor of an empty truck arriving from Afghanistan: 79 held 42.335 kg of hashish and 19 held 10.26 kg of opium, worth about 340,000 doses combined. A joint customs, border, security and police case is underway.
