Georgia intensifies crackdown on drug trafficking, says PM Kobakhidze

Georgia significantly stepped up its efforts to combat drug trafficking over the past year, targeting both domestic distribution and international transit routes, said on Monday Georgian prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze at the second meeting of the European Cities Against Drugs.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that over 3,000 drug dealers were arrested in 2025 alone - a figure he described as particularly high for a country the size of Georgia - further emphasising that the intensified crackdown reflects the government’s growing focus on tackling narcotics-related crime.

“Georgia, as you know, is a transit country and naturally connects Asia with Europe. Of course, this is a particular challenge in the context of international drug trafficking. Last year we strengthened our efforts to combat drug trafficking. This concerns both domestic trade and transit. In 2025 alone, we arrested more than 3,000 drug dealers. For a small country like Georgia, this is a very large number”, he said.

“Previously, we had a total of only 8,000 prisoners in the country. I mention this so you can understand the scale of these figures. Last year we also increased the detection rate of drug-related crimes by 87%. We uncovered 144 cases of international drug trafficking, which, of course, will have a positive effect in terms of reducing drug trafficking dynamics in Europe”, Kobakhidze continued.

He also highlighted that over 900 kilograms of heroin were seized only in the past year.

“Unprecedentedly high figure for Georgia. One of the main challenges is online sales. Currently, dealing with this problem is our main task. We are ready to cooperate intensively with all of you, share our experience, and learn from you how you deal with these problems. We are ready to develop joint initiatives in this direction and to uncover drug trafficking schemes in international networks”, the PM concluded.