Armenian police have arrested four individuals involved in the smuggling of 26 pounds (12.66 kilograms) of cannabis into the country following a vehicle interception and brief chase on the Meghri-Agarak highway in Syunik province—an area near the Armenia-Iran border often used as a transit route for cross-border trade and, at times, illicit trafficking due to its remote terrain and limited checkpoints.
According to the official report, in the early hours of July 27, patrol officers from the Syunik Division of the Patrol Service spotted a suspicious Honda vehicle on the Meghri-Agarak road. When ordered to stop, the driver refused and attempted to flee, prompting a police pursuit. Officers successfully forced the car to stop on a dirt road. During the chase, one of the passengers threw several packages out of the car window.
Two passengers—a man and a woman—were arrested at the scene. The driver fled on foot but was apprehended shortly after in the courtyard of a building in Meghri. Other police departments arrived at the scene to assist. The area was secured, and following the initiation of a criminal investigation, the scene was searched.
Twelve packages containing cannabis-like substances were recovered, with a total weight of 12 kilograms and 660 grams.
Following coordinated investigative efforts involving the Anti-Narcotics Division of the Criminal Police, the Syunik Regional Department, and the Economic Crimes and Smuggling Investigation Division of the Investigative Committee, authorities identified the person who was intended to receive the smuggled cannabis. That individual was arrested the next day on the Yerevan-Yeraskh highway.
All four suspects have been formally charged and remanded in custody pending trial. The investigation is ongoing to uncover further details about the smuggling operation and its broader network.
