An underground drug laboratory has been uncovered in Tashkent: organizers and pawnbrokers have been detained

Safety&Sequrity 13 Feb 2026, 09:10 423

During an operational event conducted by employees of the State Security Service in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan, two residents of Tashkent, aged 18 and 22, were detained. The young people rented a house in Mirzo-Ulugbek district, where they set up a drug laboratory.

During the arrest, the following items were seized from the premises: 1 kg of the synthetic narcotic substance "Mephedrone", prepared for distribution using the "bookmarks" method; equipment and materials used for laboratory drug production, which became material evidence.

Additionally, according to the geolocation of the phone of one of the detainees, a cache with another 1 kg of Mephedrone, hidden for further sale, was found in a ditch in the Bektemir district.

Operational actions continued in Yunusabad district, where six "pawnbrokers" were detained while trying to take drugs from caches.

A criminal case has been opened against all the defendants under Article 273 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan ("Illegal manufacture, acquisition, storage and sale of narcotic drugs"). An investigation is underway.