During the 11th month of 2022, a total of 10,281 criminal facts were discovered as a result of the complex investigative measures carried out by law enforcement agencies in the field of combating drug addiction and illegal drug trafficking. 3367 of them were related to the illegal sale of narcotic drugs, 6425 were related to illegal acquisition and storage of narcotic drugs, 394 were related to illegal cultivation of narcotic plants, and 95 were related to other crimes of this category.

     According to the discovered facts 5 tons 252 kg 377,662 g and 36,427 pieces of narcotic drugs and 2,514 pieces of psychotropic substances were confiscated from the illegal traffic, of which  2 tons 076 kg 309,233 g was heroin, 1 ton 955 kg 405,929 g was marijuana, 281 kg 525,188 g was marijuana, 28 kg 462,344 g was hashish, 260,95 g was cocaine, 146 kg of 743,573 g and 36,427 pills of other drugs and 763 kg of 670,445 g and 2,514 psychotropic substances. Also, during the indicated period, 1 kg 819 g of powerful substances, 10 kg 037.6 toxic substances, 70 g of precursors, 80142 pieces of hemp plants with narcotic properties were taken from illegal circulation.

  The total value of 5 tons, 252 kg, 377,662 g of narcotics and psychotropic substances taken from illegal circulation is estimated as 182 million 478 000 AZN (107 million 340 000 US dollars).

  Out of the 87 citizens of foreign countries held responsible, 41 are from the Islamic Republic of Iran, 9 from Georgia, 12 from Turkey, 2 from Turkmenistan, 1 from Kyrgyzstan, 1 from Pakistan, 2 from Ukraine, 1 from the Maldives and 18 became a citizen of Russia. A total of 1 ton 045 kg 484,880 g and 4178 pills of various types of narcotics and psychotropic substances, as well as 16759 pieces of hemp plants containing narcotics were taken from the citizens of foreign countries.

      During the 11th month of 2022, 258 facts related to the smuggling of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances into the country were discovered by law enforcement agencies, and according to those facts, the total weight of illegal circulation was 2 tons, 732 kg, 789,349 g, and 36,427 pieces of methadone, 2,514 capsules, 1470 g of MDA and 110 ml of different types of narcotics and psychotropic substances were removed.

   In total, 363 of the detected crimes were committed in a group, and 2 tons, 060 kg, 652,194 g and 9,548 pills of narcotics and psychotropic substances were confiscated from the illegal circulation.

   During the reporting period, organized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan and with the participation of representatives of other relevant institutions, 381,528 wild narcotic plants weighing 172 tons, 753 kg, 608.85 g from 532,683 hectares were identified and destroyed accordingly.

     On May 5-6 of the current year, 2 tons 402 kilograms of various types of narcotic drugs, 215 kg of psychotropic substances and their precursors, and 28,697 hemp plants, which were confiscated by the decisions of the courts, were destroyed and it was implemented by the Permanent Working Group of the State Commission for Combating Drug Addiction and Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics

    The analysis shows that compared to the 11th month of 2021, during the corresponding period of the current year, the total number of facts detected by law enforcement agencies related to the illegal circulation of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is 2186, including the number of facts related to illegal sale 301, without the purpose of sale the number of facts related to illegal acquisition and storage increased by 1872, the number of facts related to the illegal cultivation of narcotic plants by 19 facts, the number of crimes related to smuggling by 36 facts, the number of persons held responsible increased by 1873 people.

     At the same time, the weight of drugs removed from illegal circulation was 861 kg 969,079 g, the number of group crimes decreased by 32 cases, and the number of other crimes of this category decreased by 6 cases.

     According to the information of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as of December 31, 2021, the number of people registered with the diagnosis of drug addiction in the country was 34,602. Of those people, 27106 people are dispensary, 7496 people are preventive registration. 556 of them are women. 24,850 people are opioid drug users, 9,752 are cannabinoid drug users.

    During the reporting period, 731 people were infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), 715 of them were citizens of Azerbaijan. In total, since 1987, 10,101 people with a ed HIV diagnosis have been registered at the Republican AIDS Center of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan (9,772 of them are citizens of Azerbaijan, 329 are foreigners). Out of 10,101 people infected with HIV, 7,195 are men and 2,906 are women. 3,556 of them were infected with HIV as a result of injecting drug use. 2499 people from that category are currently registered in the dispensary.

   During the 11 months of 2022, 96 of the 790 HIV patients enrolled in antiretroviral therapy (ART) were injecting drug users.

   In accordance with the State Program, by the permanent Working Group of the State Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and Illegal Trafficking of Narcotic Drugs, purposeful work has been done in the direction of preventing the illegal circulation of drugs and the spread of drug addiction through education, using the possibilities of modern information technologies, and the institutions operating in this field coordination was organized, and as a result of mutual cooperation, the scope of public education work was expanded.

   During the 11 months of the current year, a total of 232 events (57 meetings with city and district commissions, 4 round tables on TV channels, awareness events in 98 educational institutions, 57 trainings in the representative offices of YDCS operating in cities and regions and other structures, 7 mass- cultural event, 1 training for specialists of cultural institutions, 4 sports tournaments and 4 flash mobs) were organized.

    During the months of January-November of the current year, the "802" hotline phone call service received 2009 citizen appeals, of which 252 were related to illegal drug trafficking, 776 were related to drug addiction treatment, and 981 were related to other issues (repetitive appeals, violations of the provisions of the legislation explanation, procedures for forced treatment, etc.) .

   1028 letters were promptly addressed to the relevant authorities to take appropriate measures on the mentioned appeals, and as a result, 776 people were referred to specialized medical institutions for drug addiction treatment, criminal cases were opened on 187 facts based on the information provided by citizens related to the illegal circulation of drugs,as a result of measures taken on 50 reports, the fact has not been ed, and operational measures are currently being continued according to 15 requests.

    At the same time, compared to the corresponding period of last year, 1071 citizen applications were received more than the hotline call service. 63 of them were related to illegal drug trafficking, 502 to voluntary treatment, and 506 to oral appeals.

  In order to prevent the spread of drugs and drug addiction through the "802 hotline" call service, coordination with the relevant organizations and citizens was ensured in an efficient manner, relevant criminal cases were initiated based on the information provided on the illegal circulation of drugs, and a large amount of drugs were seized from illegal circulation, drug users volunteered based on their requests, they were directed to treatment in specialized medical institutions, psychological support was given to families suffering from drug addiction, and the provisions of the current legislation were explained and necessary recommendations were given.

Permanent Working Group of the State Commission for Combating Drug Addiction and Illegal Trafficking in Narcotics