As a result of joint operational measures and investigative actions, officers of Kakheti Police Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Central Criminal Police Department arrested 5 people on charges of illegal planting, growing and cultivating a group of plants containing narcotic substances in a particularly large amount, aiding in the aforementioned crime, and facilitating the illegal purchase, storage and sale of narcotic substances.

The arrested are as follows: L.M., born in 1985, D.M., born in 1989, R.Ch., born in 2001; Kh.S., born in 2003, and Z. Ch., born in 1978, who has a previous conviction.

The committed crimes envision up to 20 years or life imprisonment.

The investigation established that the defendants were illegally planting, growing and cultivating the drug-containing plant "cannabis" in aone of the villages of Sighnaghi municipality, on an agricultural land temporarily used by them, drying the plant "cannabis" in a specially equipped storage room in a residential building.

As a result of the search of the agricultural plot of land, law enforcement officers seized 1,337 roots of the drug-containing plant "cannabis" as evidence, as well as a particularly large amount of dried "marijuana" and a scale intended for packaging "marijuana".

The investigation is in progress under Articles 260, 260 (4), 25-265-(1) and 265-(1) of the Criminal Code of Georgia.