The State Security Service and customs officers in Uzbekistan have uncovered a large-scale illegal pharmaceutical storage facility containing smuggled medicines worth an estimated billions of soms.

A resident of the Tashkent district, 35, is suspected of storing foreign-made medicines illegally imported into the country and distributing them to pharmacies in Tashkent, The Caspian Post reports via Uzbek media.

During the inspection, officials discovered and confiscated 76,318 units of medicines (119 different types), packed into 3,356 boxes. Among the seized products were drugs such as Frotu, Budenofalk, Gaviscon, Baraclude, and others.

The preliminary estimated value of the seized goods is around 1 billion soms.

Samples of the confiscated medicines have been sent to the Pharmaceutical Safety Center for expert analysis to determine their quality and legality.

A pre-investigation review is ongoing to establish the full scale of the illegal distribution network and possible accomplices.