Law enforcement agencies in the capital of Uzbekistan have uncovered and dismantled an illicit laboratory that produced narcotics and disguised them as confectionery items, including cookies and marmalade infused with hashish oil. The operation was jointly carried out by the Operational Search Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Service.

The crackdown began in the Yashnabad district of Tashkent, where authorities apprehended a 22-year-old courier operating for an illicit online drug vendor. A personal search of the suspect led to the seizure of 58 individually packaged wraps containing 74 grams of hashish oil intended for distribution. Follow-up investigations quickly revealed that he had been receiving these illegal consignments from an accomplice of the same age who served as the network's warehouse keeper.

Operatives subsequently conducted a raid on a rented apartment in the Dombirobod mahalla of the Chilanzar district, discovering a fully functioning clandestine production site. A thorough search yielded 3.5 kilograms of bulk hashish oil, 361 distribution-ready wraps containing 350 grams of hashish oil, 600 grams of processed hashish, 1.5 kilograms of cookies infused with cannabis oil, four packages of drugged marmalade, and various manufacturing paraphernalia.

In total, approximately six kilograms of illicit substances—equivalent to 19,250 single doses—were confiscated and prevented from entering the illegal market. Criminal proceedings have been instituted under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, with ongoing inquiries underway.

Source: kun.uz