Uzbekistan's State Security Service (SSS), in coordination with Border Troops and the Customs Committee, has thwarted an attempt to smuggle approximately 600 kg of narcotics from Afghanistan into the country.

According to the SSS press service, the illicit cargo was detected at the Termez-Avto border customs post in Surxondaryo region while scanning a truck with a trailer driven by an Afghan citizen.

The trailer contained an excavator, and suspicious objects were noticed in its lifting mechanism. An endoscopic inspection of the excavator's cavities revealed 593 kg of hashish and 3 kg of opium hidden inside.

A criminal case has been initiated under Articles 246 (Smuggling) and 273 (Illegal preparation, acquisition, storage, and other actions with narcotic drugs, their analogues, or psychotropic substances for the purpose of sale, as well as their illegal sale) of the Criminal Code.

Special services are currently taking measures to apprehend the owners of the narcotics.

Source: www.gazeta.uz