A total of more than 90 million USD worth of heroin has been discovered on the black market, the Press and Public Relations Department of the State Customs Committee told APA.
As a result of complex operational-search and control measures carried out by employees of the Astara Customs Office, a particularly large amount of narcotic drug—heroin—intended to be transported to Europe was detected and removed from illegal circulation.
A wagon carrying a cargo of "tile adhesive" from the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Republic of Estonia, transiting through the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was detained at the "Astara Railway" customs post and the cargo was examined using a stationary X-ray device. Since suspicious features were observed during the examination, a thorough customs inspection was applied to the cargo using a canine service dog.
During the inspection conducted after the reaction of the canine service dog, a particularly large amount of heroin was discovered in 44 out of 3,250 bags, with a total approximate weight of 456 kg 800 grams, including packaging.
It should be noted that the approximate retail price of the detected narcotic drug on the European black market exceeds 90 million USD.
An investigation is underway regarding the incident.
