Over 47 kg of drugs seized in Nakhchivan
By Vugar Khalilov
Azerbaijan’s State Customs Committee has seized over 47 kg of opium at the Shahtakhti customs checkpoint in Nakhchivan, the committee reported on January 7.
The customs officers thwarted another drug smuggling attempt by a vehicle carrying goods and carpets to Turkey and from there to Germany, passing through the territory of Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave, the report added.
As a result of a detailed X-ray inspection at the Shahtakhti customs checkpoint, over 47.3 kilograms of opium were found in 26 packages hidden in the armpits of six chairs and a sofa placed in the trailer of the vehicle.
The Nakhchivan Customs Committee’s Investigation Department launched a criminal case under Article 206.2 (smuggling of drugs out of customs control or in secret) of the Azerbaijani Criminal Code.
Azerbaijan’s Custom Committee and State Border Service often foil similar drug smuggling attempts on the border with Iran.
Nakhchivan, which is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan, covers 5,502.75 square kilometers. It borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest.
It should be noted that having regained full control over its 132-km southern borders with Iran after the 44-day war in 2020, Azerbaijan blocked the drug trafficking route from Iran to Armenia and then to Europe that used to pass through the country's liberated Jabrayil region.
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