The Azerbaijani State Border Service has successfully prevented a significant drug trafficking operation originating from Iran.
The incident took place on April 8, when Azerbaijani coastal surveillance units, technical monitoring posts, and border patrol vessels detected a suspicious target in the southern waters of the Caspian Sea, Caliber.Az reports per local media.
A coordinated pursuit was launched, but the suspect vessel managed to escape and return to Iranian territorial waters. During a sweep of the area, border authorities discovered a package that had been thrown overboard by the fleeing smugglers.
The seized package contained 12.45 kilograms of marijuana and 450 methadone M-40 tablets. The drugs were promptly confiscated, and Azerbaijani authorities have launched an active investigation. Operational and investigative measures are ongoing to identify the individuals responsible and to prevent similar smuggling attempts in the future.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani State Border Service thwarted an attempt to smuggle over 68 kilograms of drugs from Iran.
The officers seized more than 56 kg of drugs on the territory of the “Goytepe” border detachment, located in the country’s western region.
In a separate operation, up to 12 kg of marijuana were confiscated in the Horadiz border detachment.
