42 drug laboratories have been dismantled and psychotropic substances worth 540 million hryvnias have been seized: international special operation "RUBICON" has been completed. VIDEO&PHOTOS
A large-scale international special operation, ‘RUBICON’, aimed at dismantling a transnational network involved in the industrial production and distribution of drugs and psychotropic substances, has been completed.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing the press office of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Details from the investigation
As noted, joint investigative and operational measures by law enforcement agencies in Ukraine, Poland and Moldova have been ongoing since February this year, with the participation of Europol.
According to the investigation, the network covered the entire drug trafficking cycle – from the smuggling of precursors and the manufacture of psychotropic substances to their storage, logistics, online distribution and money laundering.
"Precursors were smuggled from EU countries into Ukraine and Poland. In underground laboratories, these were used to manufacture α-PVP, amphetamine, mephedrone and other psychotropic substances. The laboratories were set up in rented private houses, holiday home cooperatives, garages and abandoned industrial premises," the statement reads.
As explained by the Office of the Prosecutor General, the finished drugs were packaged in underground warehouses, sent via postal services and distributed through ‘stashers’. Sales were conducted via more than 130 anonymous platforms on messaging apps and chatbots. Payments were mainly made in cryptocurrency.
How was the special operation carried out?
The special operation took place in three stages. Law enforcement officers shut down the drug laboratories and warehouses, cut off cross-border supply channels for precursors, documented over 100 undercover purchases, and identified the senders, online shop administrators and drug storage locations. In the final stage, the remaining cells of the network were dismantled and its members were arrested.
Results
Following the three stages of the operation in Ukraine:
• 1,209 searches were carried out;
• 367 people were served with notices of suspicion;
• 42 drug laboratories were dismantled;
• 138 warehouses storing finished drug products were shut down;
• 56 drug shops were uncovered.
Over one tonne of finished drug products and 22 tonnes of precursors were seized from illicit circulation; according to preliminary estimates, these precursors could have been used to produce over 4 tonnes of drugs.
Also seized were 50 vehicles, 1.6 million hryvnias, 167,000 US dollars and 39,000 euros. The total value of the seized items at black market prices amounts to over 540 million hryvnias.
"According to preliminary estimates, the seized drugs and raw materials amount to several million potential doses that have been prevented from entering illegal circulation," the Office of the Prosecutor General added.
