Officers of the Customs Committee, the State Security Service and police seized 45 kg of the potent substance Pregabalin, which they tried to import into Uzbekistan in batches hidden in packages of washing powder, the spokesman of the Customs Committee, Khusan Tangriev said.

Three men who regularly tried to transport goods through the Dustlik checkpoint in the Andijan province, allegedly for personal use, this time fell victim of drug couriers, he added.

They tried to transport three packages of Ariel brand washing powder across the border, weighing a total of nine kg. During the inspection, it turned out that the packages had been previously opened and they contained pregabalin.

On the same day, operational activities were continued, and a passenger heading to the recipient of pregabalin was detained in the Akhangaran district. He was found to have nine more packages of washing powder weighing 27 kg, which also contained potent substances.

The trail led the officers to the Uchtepa district of Tashkent, since it turned out that all the substances found were intended for one of the houses in this district. During the inspection of the rented home of the suspect, it was established that an underground drug lab was being prepared there. In particular, raw materials and empty capsules intended for processing and packaging potent substances were found.

The next day, another batch was detained at the Dustlik checkpoint - 20 kg of pregabalin - in packages from washing powder of different brands, intended for the same laboratory.

In total, 16 packages with a total weight of 56 kg were seized as part of a multi-stage operation. Of this weight, as found by the examination conducted by the Central Customs Laboratory, 45 kg were pregabalin.

According to the Customs Committee, one kilogram of pregabalin can be distributed among 33 thousand capsules. Thus, the distribution of a potent substance sufficient for the production of almost 1.5 million capsules was prevented, which could have harmed the health of many people and led to various crimes.

According to preliminary estimates, the market value of the batch is estimated at 40 billion soums, with criminal case opened on the fact.

Year-to-date, customs officers have prevented 86 attempts to illegally import and distribute about 90 kg of potent substances.