Mekhtiyev Girach Ali Ogly and Umar Haqberdiyev were...

Mekhtiyev Girach Ali Ogly and Umar Haqberdiyev were sentenced to death by the Samarkand Regional court in central Uzbekistan. The two had been caught on 11th December 1999 by security and customs officers as they attempted to smuggle 107 kg of poppy into the Russian town of Krasnoyarsk out of Samarkand. The cargo was hidden under sacks of onions in a lorry, four other members of the same criminal group were handed sentences between 18 and 20 years in prison.