2.79 tons of liquid heroin seized from truck that entered into Georgia from Azerbaijan
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2.79 tons of liquid heroin seized from truck that entered into Georgia from Azerbaijan –
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2.79 tons of liquid heroin was seized from a cargo truck that entered into Georgia from Azerbaijan, the Georgian Interior Ministry said on July 11.
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The seizure represents the biggest ever drug hauls in Georgia, according to the Interior Ministry.
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It said that two citizens of Georgia were arrested.
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The truck, according to the Interior Ministry, was carrying 93 thirty-liter plastic barrels filled with illegal substance containing 80% of heroin.
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Drugs, worth of “hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars”, was intended for international transit and was en-route to Turkey, the Georgian Interior Ministry said.
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The previous largest drug seizures recorded in Georgia was in July, 2013, when 116kg of heroin was found in a truck, which entered into Georgia from Armenia.
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Georgia is a transit and destination country for illicit drugs produced in other countries, according to the recent International Narcotics Control Strategy Report by the U.S. Department of State, which covers developments of 2013.
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“The most significant route runs from Afghanistan and Iran through Azerbaijan and Georgia, to destinations in Western Europe, Turkey, and Russia. International-bound trucks and cars sometimes carry narcotics on this route, transiting Georgia before traveling to Turkey or Russia, or moving to Ukraine, Moldova, or Bulgaria on Black Sea ferries,” reads the report.
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According to this report, in 2013 strengthened border security measures and more proactive approach to investigations and inspection “led to a dramatic increase in drug seizures.”
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“These seizures demonstrated the increasingly high priority placed on narcotics interdiction by the current Georgian government, which came to power after parliamentary elections in October 2012. Total drug seizures in previous recent years were nominal (seizures in 2011 and 2012 totaled less than a kilogram each of heroin, marijuana, and synthetic drugs),” reads the report.
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