State Bureau of Investigation has dismantled transnational cocaine supply channel to Ukraine. VIDEO+PHOTOS
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, exposed and shut down a transnational cocaine supply channel from European countries to Ukraine.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the SBI.
During the special operation, it was established that the drug trafficking was organised by an international criminal group consisting of citizens of Ukraine, Armenia, the Czech Republic, and Germany. The group members had a clear division of roles, acted conspiratorially, and employed several levels of logistics.
The organiser of the group had previously served a sentence in the United States for similar crimes. After returning to Ukraine, he resumed his illegal activities, involving accomplices abroad. One of them lived permanently in Germany and coordinated the regular supply of drugs from EU countries. Another participant, together with his father, was responsible for receiving, storing, and further distributing prohibited substances in Ukraine, having contacts with wholesale buyers.
At the first stage, the criminals used inconspicuous methods to transport small batches of drugs, involving specially selected couriers who concealed the drugs in their bodies. Such deliveries were regular and served to test channels and routes.
At the same time, the group worked to significantly expand the scale of drug trafficking. To this end, the suspects negotiated the establishment of alternative delivery channels, in particular using maritime logistics and container transport through the port infrastructure of Odesa. They paid particular attention to the possibility of "guaranteed" passage through customs and border controls.
According to the investigation, they planned to import cocaine into Ukraine in batches of up to 2 kilograms per week. The cost of one such batch on the illegal market exceeded 200 thousand US dollars.
There is also documented evidence of attempts to involve individual customs and border control officials in illegal activities. The State Bureau of Investigation is checking the possible involvement of officials in this scheme.
SBI employees detained an international drug trafficking organiser in Odesa. He has been notified of suspicion of illegal transportation and sale of narcotic drugs (Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The issue of choosing a preventive measure for him is currently being decided.
The article provides for a punishment of up to 12 years in prison.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officers are identifying all persons involved in the operation of the international criminal network, in particular co-organisers who are outside Ukraine.
The proceedings are being conducted by the Odesa Specialised Prosecutor's Office for the Southern Region.
