In the Surkhandarya region, Uzbek authorities have thwarted an attempt to smuggle an unprecedented amount of narcotics from Afghanistan. A joint operation by the State Security Service's border troops and the Customs Committee disrupted an international smuggling ring.

The criminal group allegedly planned to move the drugs in the early morning hours, hoping to catch border guards off guard.

The supply channel was blocked at the Termez-auto border customs post. During inspection of a Mercedes truck driven by an Afghan citizen, customs officers noticed an excavator of the Doosan brand being transported on a trailer. Scanning the heavy machinery with an inspection complex revealed suspicious objects in the lifting part of the excavator, not typical of the factory design.

Specialists used an endoscope to examine the hidden cavities of the excavator's boom, discovering 593 kg of hashish and 3 kg of opium. A criminal case has been opened under articles 246 (smuggling) and 273 (illegal sale of narcotics) of the Criminal Code. Law enforcement is now working to identify and apprehend all members of the criminal network involved in this smuggling.

Source: podrobno.uz