Armenia seizes $250 million worth of cocaine

Armenian authorities said on Wednesday that a tonne of cocaine worth around $250 million had been seized in one of the largest drug seizures in the country’s history.

Armenia’s national security service said the cargo from Ecuador had been ordered by an Armenian company, adding it had arrived via Panama, Italy, and Georgia.

The announcement came a day after Italian police announced the seizure of 2.7 tonnes of cocaine in containers carrying bananas from Ecuador.

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That shipment was also destined for the small South Caucasus country and was estimated at around $800 million.

The Office of the Prosecutor General said it had launched an investigation.

Drug trafficking has been on the rise in the Moscow-allied country of some three million people. 

Armenia drug trafficking cases

Last year Armenian police reported 743 drug trafficking cases, up from 420 cases in 2021.

In February, Interior Minister Vahe Ghazaryan came under fire from lawmakers over the worsening drug trafficking statistics.

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Opposition MP Agnessa Khamoyan said on Facebook that the “terrible statistics” showed that “the state is not taking any serious steps to address the issue.”

Khamoyan claimed “top government officials” were involved in drug trafficking.

Government critics say the soaring drug trade was part of an overall increase in crime which rose in Armenia by more that 24 percent last year.

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