Georgia has extradited a Kazakh citizen suspected of involvement in an organized criminal group accused of producing and distributing large quantities of psychotropic substances and laundering criminal proceeds.

The suspect was handed over to Kazakhstan following his detention in Georgia in January, The Caspian Post reports, citing the Kazakh Prosecutor General’s Office.

According to investigators, the suspect was part of a criminal group that organized the production of psychotropic substances on an especially large scale.

The group reportedly manufactured mephedrone, which was distributed through hidden “stash” locations across Almaty and the Almaty region.

During the investigation, police officers seized nearly 10 kilograms of mephedrone from members of the group.

The group laundered proceeds from its illegal activities through various financial transactions, including cryptocurrency exchanges.

The total value of these transactions exceeded 1.8 billion tenge (about $3.8 million).

Investigators also found that the suspects had purchased real estate, business assets and vehicles worth more than 600 million tenge. The assets have been frozen and may later be transferred to state ownership.

Some members of the criminal group have already appeared before a court, while others-including the extradited suspect-had previously been placed on an international wanted list.

After being extradited to Kazakhstan, the suspect was placed in a pre-trial detention facility.

He faces charges related to participation in an organized criminal group, large-scale illegal trafficking of psychotropic substances and legalization of criminal proceeds.

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison with confiscation of property.