VIDEO: Drugs, 4500 Euros in Counterfeit Bills; 10 Individuals Arrested

The Armenian Ministry of Internal Affairs has declared 2023 as the year of combating drug addiction and drug-related crimes. The police report that a multi-staged drug trafficking operation culminated on April 20.

The first link in the drug chain came to the police's attention on April 5, when officers from the Shengavit Police Department arrested a 25-year-old resident of Yerevan for illegal possession and use of drugs, acting on operational data. During a personal search at the station, 0.41 grams of methamphetamine and a folding knife were found in his possession. Following the incident, a criminal case was initiated on several counts under the Armenian Criminal Code.

As a result of extensive operational-search measures, officers from the Shengavit precinct, along with investigators, identified that the 25-year-old had obtained the drugs from a 56-year-old resident of the capital. He was arrested on April 7 for illegal acquisition, use, and trafficking of drugs.

On the same day, based on a court order, a search was conducted at a shed belonging to the 56-year-old man on Artashisyan Street. During the search, 0.7 grams of methamphetamine, 0.75 grams of opium, and 280 milliliters of methadone were discovered.

Continuing with the operational-search activities, it was also discovered that the drugs had been sold to the 56-year-old man by a 41-year-old individual. He was arrested on April 11 for illegal possession and trafficking of drugs and was taken to the Shengavit Police Department along with passengers in his Volkswagen vehicle. A personal search revealed 6.1 grams of methamphetamine, and from the passengers, 2.92 grams of marijuana and a burnt pipe were found.

As law enforcement continued their efforts, the identity of the person who supplied drugs to the 41-year-old was established as another 56-year-old resident of Yerevan. On April 20, officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, alongside Shengavit police and investigators from the Investigative Committee, arrested the 56-year-old involved in drug trafficking.

Furthermore, within the same criminal case, a search was conducted at the apartment of a 47-year-old woman connected to the arrested man in Vagarshapat. The search resulted in the discovery of 366.78 grams of hashish, 89.13 grams of opium, 2.11 grams of methamphetamine, 4500 Euros in counterfeit bills, along with three scales with drug residue and numerous flasks.

Continuing their operations on the same day, law enforcement arrested a 51-year-old resident of Yerevan for illegal acquisition, possession, and trafficking of drugs, following which a search was conducted at a building adjacent to his residence on Fanarjyan Street, uncovering 8.38 grams of opium.

In the vicinity of that building, a 48-year-old resident of the capital was also found and arrested on the same suspicions. A search revealed 0.57 grams of methamphetamine, a burnt pipe, and a folding knife. The preliminary investigation into the initiated criminal case is ongoing.