"VAN" (International Desk - 23.08.2026) :: A 23-year-old Afghan citizen has been arrested in Uzbekistan on charges of smuggling and attempting to sell 506 grams of opium at the Termez International Market, Uzbek authorities said.
According to Uzbek news agency Daryo, the suspect allegedly concealed the narcotics inside his body before crossing the border into Uzbekistan. Security officers said he was arrested while attempting to sell the drugs for $2,500 at the shared border market in Termez.
Uzbekistan’s State Security Service said the arrest was part of a broader anti-narcotics operation in the Surkhandarya border region, which borders northern Afghanistan.
Authorities also announced the arrest of three additional suspects in separate drug trafficking cases in the same area. One 46-year-old man was detained with 1 kilogram of opium and nearly 1 kilogram of hashish, while two other men, aged 40 and 60, were arrested for allegedly trafficking about 500 grams of hashish.
Criminal cases have been opened against all four suspects under Uzbekistan’s narcotics trafficking laws, and investigations are ongoing.
The arrest comes as Central Asian countries continue reporting drug trafficking cases linked to routes from Afghanistan. Although Taliban’s authorities say they have banned the cultivation and trade of narcotics, neighboring countries have repeatedly reported seizures of opium and hashish along their borders.
The latest case follows another recent border incident in Tajikistan, where authorities said two Afghan nationals were killed during an armed clash with Tajik border guards while allegedly attempting to smuggle 17 kilograms of hashish into the country.
Cr-KP
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