Translated with AI
In the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan, law enforcement agencies have disrupted a drug trafficking ring involving pensioners, kun.uz reports.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, residents of border areas, including the elderly, colluded with Afghan suppliers and imported opium into Uzbekistan for subsequent distribution in Termez and surrounding areas.
During the investigation, one of the participants, an elderly courier, was detained and found in possession of a narcotic substance. Other defendants in the case were later identified. Cash was seized from one of them, and 5 grams of narcotics from another.
A large stash of illegal substances was discovered at the home of the suspected organizer. Twelve packages of opium, totaling over 12 kilograms, were seized, along with paraphernalia for its use.
A criminal case has been opened on this incident, and all suspects have been detained. The investigation is ongoing.
In November 2025, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved the draft National Program of Comprehensive Practical Actions to Prevent and Combat Drug-Related Crimes, designed for 2025–2026.
The document includes more than 100 operational-preventive, organizational-educational and informational-propaganda measures.
The need to adopt the program was explained by statistics showing that since the beginning of 2025, more than 11,000 drug-related crimes have been identified and approximately 2.5 tons of narcotics have been seized.
Measures to tighten criminal penalties, including for crimes committed against young people, and other initiatives to combat drug crime were also proposed.
