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93 Drug Dealers Detained this Year

By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, November 29
The Georgian Interior Ministry has reported that since 1 January 2018 93 drug dealers have been detained in the country.

The detainees face 8-20 years in prison or a life sentence.

The ministry says that the individuals were detained in the Ponichala district of Tbilisi, Gardabani, Kaspi and Marneuli regions of eastern Georgia.

Polichala has become one of the most challenging areas for the Georgian government in terms of drug dealing.

Ponichala, which is one of the districts of Tbilisi now, earlier belonged to the Gardabani municipality in eastern Georgia, where locals, mainly ethnic Azerbaijani, were engaged with agricultural activities.

One of the Ponichala residents L.M. told the Messenger earlier last month that the area is now nicknamed as “little Columbia,” where dozens of locals are busy with drug dealing.

Interior Ministry reports that 13 packages of heroin have been seized. A weapon was also seized from the house of one of the detainees.

In the reported period police seized:

33 kg heroin.

11,000 pills of Subutex.

3 kg MDMA

1.5 kg different psychotropic drugs.