About 3 kilograms of opium and hashish were seized in Surkhandarya.

A series of drug-related crimes has been thwarted in the Surkhandarya region: nearly 3 kilograms of opium and hashish have been seized.

State Security Service (SSS) officers, together with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) and customs authorities, have uncovered three cases of illegal drug trafficking in the Surkhandarya region. As a result of these operations, approximately 3 kilograms of opium and hashish were seized.

In the Denau district, a search of the home of a 46-year-old local resident previously convicted of drug-related crimes yielded one kilogram each of opium and hashish. According to preliminary information, the man was possessing the drugs for the purpose of sale.

Two men, aged 40 and 60, previously convicted of drug trafficking, were also detained in the same district. They were caught attempting to sell approximately 500 grams of hashish to a conditional buyer for 85 million soums.

A 23-year-old Afghan citizen was arrested in Termez after attempting to sell over 500 grams of opium for $2,500 at a shopping center. Law enforcement determined that the drug was smuggled from a neighboring country, using his own body as a "human container."

Criminal cases have been opened in all three cases, and investigations are ongoing.

Previously, a Kazakh citizen was arrested in the Navoi region with 2.87 kilograms of opium. Investigators believe he took the drug from a stash house where it was delivered by smugglers.