The Tbilisi City Court fully accepted the arguments presented by the prosecution and found the defendant guilty of the illegal acquisition, possession, and sale of narcotic drugs in an especially large amount, the Prosecutor’s Office reported.

“During the court proceedings, the evidence collected confirmed that the defendant had illegally acquired and possessed an especially large amount of a narcotic substance — 0.991 grams of heroin — which he sold for monetary compensation in two stages.

The defendant was charged under subparagraphs ‘a’ and ‘d’ of part two and subparagraph ‘a’ of part three of Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (illegal acquisition and possession of narcotic drugs in large and especially large amounts, repeatedly), as well as under subparagraphs ‘a’ and ‘e’ of part five and subparagraph ‘a’ of part six of Article 260-1 (illegal sale of narcotic drugs in large and especially large amounts by a person previously convicted of a similar crime), which provides for a sentence of 8 to 20 years of imprisonment or life imprisonment.

The Tbilisi City Court found the defendant guilty on the charges brought against him and determined the punishment to be 16 years of imprisonment,” the Prosecutor’s Office said in its statement.