On the morning of March 27, an attempt to smuggle hashish in bundles disguised as potatoes was detected at Airitom customs post in Surkhandarya province, the State Customs Authority said.
A truck entering from Afghanistan was supposed to transit via Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan. According to the documents, it was loaded with more than 22 tons of potatoes in 533 bags.
However, the x-ray images of the cargo raised doubts, with the inspection finding 38 bags, 1305 bundles disguised as potatoes with 154.09 kg of hashish inside.
The bundles that concealed the drugs consisted of four layers. First they were wrapped in ordinary polyethylene, then in black carbon paper. At the third stage, the bundle was hermetically wrapped with adhesive tape. At the fourth stage, the bundle was shaped like potatoes so that they do not visually stand out among the cargo.
According to the State Customs Committee, if during 2021 customs seized 531 kg of drugs, then as of March 28, 2022, 530 kg of drugs were already seized from illegal circulation. And for the same period last year, this figure was only 56 kg.
Reportedly, the customs authorities opened criminal case, with an investigation underway.
