Over 115 kg of drugs seized, 39 border trespassers detained in March

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

The Azerbaijani State Border Service seized over 115 kg of drugs and some 7,820 psychotropic pills in March, the service reported on its website on April 1.

The State Border Service maintained its efforts to ensure reliable border protection and combat smuggling, illegal migration, and drug trafficking.

In the said period, 39 people were detained for illegally crossing the state border (five Pakistani, five Yemen, four Iranian, one Turkish, one Ukrainian and 23 Azerbaijani citizens).

In an effort to combat illegal migration, 26 people were detained in 19 separate cases after attempting to cross the state border with forged Schengen visas and stamps and one person with a document belonging to another.

In 39 cases, 79 people were detained for violating the rules of the border regime, and appropriate action was taken against them.

As a result of anti-crime initiatives, 210 people wanted by Azerbaijan's law-enforcement agencies were identified and turned over to the appropriate authorities. Some 331 people who were barred from leaving Azerbaijan were unable to leave, and 23 people who were previously barred from entering the country were denied entry.

Anti-smuggling measures resulted in the seizure of contraband worth approximately AZN 718,953 ($422,913), which included tobacco products and alcohol.

The report also stated that steps are being taken to organize reliable border protection for the country.