It is reported that the individual caught as a narcotic courier was a fifth-year student at Samarkand State Institute of Economics and Service. He became acquainted with a Tajik national named Sancho in the Urgut district late last October.

Via WhatsApp, the Tajik national, Sancho, proposed that the student receive smuggled drugs into Uzbekistan and transport them to a prearranged address.

"I had told him about my need to pay for my university tuition. He offered to help me. When he called, I inquired whether it was possible for me to personally make the delivery and questioned the legality of the contents. He assured me it was legal," the accused young man stated.

Sancho promised the service fee of $1,000 to the accused for completing the delivery.

The narcotics were intended to be concealed beneath a tree. The accused arrived at the designated location to carry out his task at around 12:20 a.m. that night.

He was apprehended by law enforcement officers while taking a package containing 5 kg of opium wrapped in five packets, hidden under roadside trees.

The case was heard in the Jomboy district criminal court.

As pre the court verdict, the young man was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment by partially combining the penalties as stipulated under Article 59 of the Criminal Code.