U420 chain, which sold drugs disguised as souvenirs, has been shut down. PHOTOS
Law enforcement officers carried out searches at the U420 chain of shops, which were selling drugs disguised as souvenirs.
This was reported by the National Police, according to Censor.NET.
Details
"Documentation of the activities of these shops has been ongoing since December 2025. All details will be made public once the legal proceedings have been concluded," they stated.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that an extensive distribution network was operating in Kyiv and across the Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
"Specialised shops were used to sell ‘souvenir’ products which actually contained dangerous chemical compounds and could cause serious harm to health. In particular, these were goods disguised as souvenir cigarettes and drinks.
To conceal their activities and launder proceeds, the organisers used over 56 controlled business entities – so-called ‘front companies’ – which did not actually carry out any real business activities," the statement reads.
As part of the proceedings, over 200 searches were carried out at the network’s premises and at the residences of those involved, in particular those linked to the U420 network.
The actions of the participants have been classified under Part 1 and 2 of Article 255, Part 2 and 3 of Article 307, and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. These articles pertain to serious and particularly serious crimes related to the activities of a criminal organisation, the drug trade, and money laundering.
What led up to this?
- Earlier, journalists from Bihus.Info published a report revealing that the U420 chain of shops, which has been opening outlets across Ukraine on a massive scale since spring 2025, sells a particularly dangerous psychotropic substance disguised as ‘souvenirs’.
