Large-scale operation to dismantle drug trafficking networks in Ukraine: 67 suspects detained, over 17 million doses of drugs seized. PHOTOS
Law enforcement officers conducted 230 searches across 15 regions of Ukraine and exposed an interregional criminal organization consisting of 67 members involved in the production and distribution of psychotropic substances. Narcotics worth over 2 billion UAH were seized.
This was reported by the press service of the National Police, Censor.NET reports.
The organized drug trafficking network was uncovered and dismantled in the regions of Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, and the city of Kyiv.
Established drug trafficking operation
Police determined that a 32-year-old man — a native of Donetsk region residing in Kyiv region and previously convicted for trafficking precursors — was behind the organization of a large-scale drug business and the formation of a stable criminal group. The organization included 66 other individuals who maintained an extensive network of drug laboratories and distributed psychotropic substances across the entire territory of Ukraine.
The criminal group had a well-developed hierarchical structure with clearly defined roles among its members. Some associates were responsible for coordinating the uninterrupted supply of precursors used to manufacture narcotic substances, which were trafficked into Ukraine from countries in the European Union and Asia. This transnational supply channel, referred to as "the Road" by the perpetrators, was established by the group’s leader himself.
Other members oversaw the maintenance of storage facilities where psychotropic substances, precursors, other chemical compounds, and laboratory equipment were packaged and stored. This "product" was then passed on to other accomplices, either via logistics companies or through so-called "dead drops." Another segment of the group acted as so-called chemists and lab technicians, who synthesized precursors into psychotropic substances in specially equipped laboratories.
Members of the final link in the criminal chain were responsible for wholesale distribution of the finished product across all regions of Ukraine. To that end, distributors were engaged to conceal drugs in parcels and ship them under fictitious sender information, or to set up so-called "master stashes."
To deceive delivery service personnel, narcotics were disguised as various consumer goods. For instance, drug dealers in the capital city shipped them as products for intimate use, applying fake branded labels from relevant stores to the packaging. In addition, the perpetrators created and maintained Telegram channels and other online platforms used to advertise banned substances and communicate with potential "customers."
Dismantling the drug network and arrests
Each month, members of the organization manufactured over 700 kilograms of psychotropic substances, worth more than 300 million UAH on the black market.
Payments for the narcotics were mostly made in cryptocurrency, which ensured the anonymity of the criminal operation.
With support from special forces of the National Police, law enforcement conducted a multi-stage special operation across 14 regions and the capital. As a result of 232 searches, 19 drug laboratories and 17 warehouses storing psychotropic substances were dismantled.
Law enforcement officers seized 118 kg of mephedrone, 160 liters of mephedrone reaction mixtures (equivalent to 80 kg of mephedrone), 156 kg of alpha-PVP, 30 kg of amphetamine, 250 kg of the precursor phenyl-2-nitropropene (equivalent to 200 kg of amphetamine), and over 17 tons of precursors — sufficient to produce approximately 3,500 kg of finished product.
They also seized laboratory equipment, bank cards, handwritten records, 26 vehicles, and over 5 million UAH in cash.
The total amount of drugs seized during the investigation is equivalent to 17 million doses. The sale of such a quantity could have generated around 2 billion UAH in illegal profits for the perpetrators.
Suspicions of businessmen
Police detained 67 members of the criminal group in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
Police investigators served them with notices of suspicion under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, depending on their involvement in illegal activities:
- Art. 255(1), (2) (Establishment, leadership of a criminal community or criminal organisation, as well as participation in it);
- p. 4 of Article 28, part 3 of Article 305 (Smuggling of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors or counterfeit medicines);
- p. 3 of Art. 307 (Illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation, shipment or sale of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues);
- p. 2 of Art. 310 (Sowing or cultivation of sleeping poppies or cannabis);
- p. 3 of Art. 311 (Illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation or shipment of precursors), Art. 317 (Organisation or maintenance of places for illegal use, production or manufacture of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues);
- p. 2 of Art. 317 (Organisation or maintenance of places for illegal use, production or manufacture of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues).
The defendants face up to 12 years in prison. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
