U420 network was one of "operations" of "Khimprom" drug gang, - National Police
One of the operations of the "Khimprom" group was the U420 network. The stores were registered under 145 different sole proprietorships, each of which performed a specific function.
This was reported during a briefing by Maksym Tsutskiridze, head of the Main Investigative Department of the National Police, according to Censor.NET.
What is known?
He noted that as far back as 2019, law enforcement authorities had notified 30 members of the "Khimprom" organization that they were under investigation. Two of its organizers are currently wanted internationally.
As part of the first case against "Khimprom," 19 people have already been convicted. Case files have been submitted for 28 suspects, and court proceedings are still ongoing for 8 of them.
The group’s leader is a Russian citizen who has fled abroad; he has been on the international wanted list since 2019.
After the group was exposed, he restructured its operations to minimize risks. The criminal group was divided into several separate branches, whose members were not connected to one another.
The first area
This refers specifically to drug trafficking. They were, in fact, among the first to launch marketplaces for selling drugs and began systematically distributing them via Telegram and the darknet. They adopted this method from Russia.
The group trained "chemists," teaching them to manufacture drugs from scratch using video instructions.
Thus, the lab technicians were not acquainted with the couriers and dealers, which ensured the stability of "Khimprom."
The second area
Call centers for recruiting money mules. After the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion, the organizer gave instructions to recruit people who had fled the war to neighboring countries, train them, and use them to recruit Ukrainians from abroad to work as money mules.
Subsequently, these individuals began working in call centers, calling, in particular, EU citizens, posing as employees of banks or law enforcement agencies in those countries, and in this way defrauded the victims of over 50 million hryvnias.
Tsutskiridze noted that, in connection with this case, a co-organizer and five active perpetrators were detained. They were notified of their status as suspects in a case of fraud committed on an especially large scale as part of a criminal organization.
The third area of activity
The perpetrators also engaged in the use of force against opponents and former accomplices who had slipped out of their control.
On April 17, law enforcement conducted a special operation to document such activities by "Khimprom."
U420
Another branch of "Khimprom" was the U420 network. The stores were registered under 145 different sole proprietorships, each of which performed a specific function.
"Most of the people in whose names these sole proprietorships are registered come from disadvantaged segments of the population. The vast majority of them don’t even know they are entrepreneurs," he noted.
This scheme was necessary for tax evasion and so that, in the event of exposure, all responsibility could be shifted to the nominal individuals.
A week ago, nearly 300 searches were conducted, and products containing synthetic narcotics worth 75 million hryvnias were seized.
Currently, four participants have been notified of suspicion of the illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, and sale of narcotic substances, committed by a group of individuals acting in concert; the court has ordered them to be held in custody as a precautionary measure.
Additionally, 416 bank accounts belonging to business entities involved in the scheme have been frozen, and nearly one million USDT in cryptocurrency has been blocked.
