In Armenia, 52.7% of registered drug trafficking cases are solved –  MIA

ArmInfo. In Armenia, the drug trafficking detection rate in 2026 increased to 52.7% compared to last year (50.9%), as stated by Police Colonel Vache Hovsepyan, Head of the Criminological Analysis and Law Enforcement Cooperation Department of the Criminal Police General Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia, during a press conference on  "Combating Drug Use and Illegal Trafficking."

According to the Colonel, during the first five months of 2026, 1,313  drug-related crimes were recorded in Armenia, 1,269 of which involved  illicit trafficking. In the same period of 2025, 1,325 cases were  recorded.  "The clearance rate for such crimes has increased to  52.7%, compared to 50.9% last year. During this same period, 757  cases of drug sales were recorded, compared to 802 cases last year.  There was also an increase in the clearance rate for drug sales,  which reached 21%, whereas last year this figure was lower at 19.3%,"  Hovsepyan noted.

Regarding drug smuggling, he reported that 38 cases were solved  during the specified period. Hovsepyan pointed out that the number of  suspects formally charged has increased. "This indicates that the  quality of case resolution for drug smuggling has improved, meaning  the work being carried out in this direction has helped create a  sufficient evidentiary basis," the police colonel explained.

Thanks to this, as Hovsepyan noted, the clearance rate for such  crimes in 2026 reached 36.8%, compared to 8.3% last year. He  clarified that this improvement in the quality of smuggling case  resolutions is not coincidental and is linked to the new strategic  approaches of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Regarding cases of  illicit drug trafficking, he noted that during the first five months  of 2026, criminal prosecution was initiated against 518 people.

"The volume of illegally withdrawn drugs has also increased in recent  years, and the first half of the year has not yet been finalized.  However, according to police data, the volume of illegally withdrawn  drugs currently stands at 243 kg (of various types), while last  year's figure was much lower – 132 kg," Hovsepyan reported.

He also noted that detections of synthetic drugs have increased,  particularly methamphetamine, which, as the police colonel noted, is  the most widely used synthetic drug in the country. "18 kg of this  drug were seized, which is three times more than last year's figure,"  Hovsepyan concluded.