"By documenting criminal activities of certain drug trafficking groups, we realized these individuals had been recruited by enemy" – Dmytro Torhalo
How do Russian intelligence services exploit Telegram channels involved in drug distribution, recruit individuals, and organize acts of sabotage? Are narcotics being seized in frontline areas? Why, despite tightened border security, are tons of precursors still being smuggled into Ukraine to produce so-called "salts"? How do drug trafficking groups launder their illicit profits?
These and other questions were answered in an interview with Censor.NET by Dmytro Torhalo, head of the Drug Enforcement Department of the National Police.
"TWO GIRLS SMOKED METHADONE AND THEIR LUNGS WERE BURNED. THEY STARTED HAVING SEIZURES"
- Recently, the National Police conducted a large-scale special operation across 15 regions of the country. The official report states that "every month, the accomplices produced over 700 kilograms of narcotics, supplying ‘consumers’ across various regions of Ukraine." How long had this network been operating, and how did you uncover it?
- The exact date of its creation will be established during the pre-trial investigation. We had been actively documenting its activity for six months. Before that, some time was spent verifying the operational information we had received and collecting materials, which we then presented to the investigator and the prosecutor. It was essential for us to secure three ‘yes’ responses. The operations unit understood what was going on and how, but under current legislation, the materials we obtained had to convince both the investigator and the prosecutor. Only such a coordinated approach enables effective action.
We had 130 individuals under investigation, against whom active covert investigative and surveillance measures were being carried out. As a result of our operation, we gathered sufficient evidence and served notices of suspicion to 73 individuals. These were people involved in the distribution, production, and transportation of narcotic substances. Detention without the right to bail was imposed by the courts on 66 of them.
During the documentation process, we also identified 20 laboratories operating independently from one another.
- How complex is the production process? Do you need to have a background in chemistry to manufacture such drugs?
Unfortunately, synthetic drugs like alpha-PVP and mephedrone are very easy and simple to produce. That’s why they’re so widespread.
While documenting the case, we obtained evidence showing how individuals are taught to manufacture these drugs. The instructions didn’t include visuals — just audio recordings explaining what to mix, in what proportions, and how exactly to do it.
Of course, some synthetic drugs are more complex — methadone, for example. Lab technicians involved in its production are considered the top tier within drug trafficking networks. That’s a different, more complicated process, requiring specific knowledge of chemical synthesis.
But in this case, they were producing cheaper and simpler substances. That’s why those who were recruited were given something like a construction kit with instructions — and paid money for their "work".
- According to the National Police, 17 tonnes of precursors were seized during the special operation. Where and how were they being procured?
- We identified an individual who, while residing outside Ukraine, organized a smuggling route for precursors into the country from India and China. The hub was located in Poland.
This person had a network of couriers who transported the "chemicals" and sorted them.
Another segment of the network was responsible for recruiting and training "personnel", lab technicians, as well as for quality control.
There was also a separate group tasked with distribution. Their responsibilities included arranging storage facilities — often an apartment or a single room in a rented flat. The drugs were delivered there from the laboratory and packaged on-site.
Depending on the task, the warehouse chain is broken down into two or three tiers: a bulk depot, a mid-level hub, and retail distribution. If a laboratory, for example, produces about 30 kilograms of narcotics and cooperates with three to five Telegram channels, the entire 30-kilogram batch first goes to a single depot, where it is repackaged to meet each channel’s needs—two or three kilograms, or even half a kilo. From there it is shipped to smaller warehouses, where it is portioned into individual doses and placed in "drug stashes."
At every stage, the people involved do not meet or communicate with one another. This is one of our challenges, because we must identify who is behind each messenger handle, and that leaves us plenty of work ahead.
Globally, law-enforcement agencies are always chasing drug traffickers, while the traffickers stay a step ahead. With a smuggler we can rely on typical schemes or past experience; a drug trafficker, however, is constantly inventing something new. His goal is to hide the drugs so well that no one would ever suspect anything is concealed or being moved. Once a stash is discovered, it is never reused—the next shipment will be stashed somewhere else.
- How did these precursors even make it into Ukraine and in such volumes?
- They were brought in using canisters. In small quantities, but on a regular basis. Disguised as packages.
- If you and I go to send a package abroad today, we’ll be asked to show what’s inside. I assume the same applies in the other direction?
- That’s the case if you go to a postal service or a logistics company. But what if you send it by bus? Or a foreign national drives across the border with a canister of liquid labeled as cleaning detergent?
- But even during the special operation alone, 17 tonnes were seized. And how much came in before that — no one knows. How many times did they have to cross the border with those canisters?
- You can’t cross a state border in a truck loaded with prohibited "chemicals." It won’t get through — it’ll be seized, and so will those transporting it.
That’s likely why they chose this method — bringing in 10, 20, or 50 liters at a time. It’s much harder to control that way.
- Were customs or border officers involved in this group's operations?
- We did not document any such facts. On the contrary, we cooperated with border guards during this special operation, as well as with our Polish counterparts. Interestingly, the substances that were first brought into Poland and then into Ukraine are not prohibited from free circulation on Polish territory.
Overall, by the time we began documenting this group’s activities, a large portion of the "chemicals" had already been smuggled in.
You know what surprised us? The backup laboratories. These were labs clearly prepared in case the active ones were exposed. There were no people present, but equipment had been delivered and "chemicals" were being stockpiled.
- Were narcotics being distributed in frontline areas?
- One of the primary tasks of our department — and the National Police as a whole — is to block drug supply routes into frontline territories. Yes, there were attempts to deliver drugs there, but we responded and shut down those channels.
- Are Russian intelligence services using drugs as a hybrid tool to destabilize the situation? Especially in frontline areas? We often see in the news that Russian agents recruit individuals to set fire to military vehicles, relay cabinets, or plant explosives near the Territorial Center of Recruitment and Social Support (TCR and SS) or district police departments. Law enforcement officers report that some of these acts are arranged through Telegram channels that also sell drugs. It’s possible that drug-dependent individuals are being used — those willing to carry out tasks in exchange for substances they can’t afford. Have you documented such cases?
- Given that recruitment typically happens via messaging apps and that drug distribution and "client" searches also take place through Telegram channels, we clearly see the connection.
We have documented cases in which, while investigating the criminal activity of certain drug trafficking groups, we discovered that some of the individuals had been recruited by the enemy. For example, in one case, several individuals had been instructed to build an improvised explosive device and use it against law enforcement officers. They communicated directly with a handler from the Russian intelligence services, who provided detailed instructions. As a result, we coordinated our efforts with the Security Service of Ukraine. During the joint operation, these individuals were detained.
- Given the volume of synthetic drugs seized, it’s safe to assume there’s demand. How quickly do people die from them?
- That’s a difficult question — I’m not sure how to answer it. We don’t collect that kind of data. You’d be better off speaking with medical professionals on this topic. These drugs, like any others, destroy a person from within — they affect the nervous system and other organs. But causes of death vary. In the past few years, I’ve personally seen only one fatal case. Two girls smoked methadone and burned their lungs. They started having seizures. The man they were with, who had been using drugs for years, saw what happened and panicked. He dragged them out of the apartment and left them in the stairwell, essentially abandoning them to die.
- Let’s go back to the recent special operation. Were the suspects connected to international networks?
- Yes, specifically individuals involved in the supply of precursors. In addition, we documented not only the production and distribution of narcotics within Ukraine, but also attempts to smuggle them abroad. Several individuals involved in this were detained during joint operations with our Moldovan counterparts.
"COMPARED TO 'SALTS', COCAINE IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE — THAT’S WHY IT’S NOT VERY POPULAR"
- When the full-scale war began, law enforcement officials stated that it had affected the crime situation. For example, street crime, including robberies and assaults, decreased, while fraud schemes became more common. How has the war impacted the drug situation in Ukraine overall? What has changed?
- Due to its geographic location, Ukraine has always been attractive to those engaged in drug smuggling. They tried to move heroin and cocaine in transit through Ukraine into Europe. But now our ports are closed, and there is no air travel. So at the moment, such transit trafficking through Ukraine has effectively stopped.
Another factor that influenced the situation is that the organizers and members of drug trafficking networks left the country when the full-scale invasion began. Many of them settled in Europe. And there, we’re seeing a rise in drug-related crime. New laboratories are being set up, and synthetic drugs — especially "salts" — are becoming more common. These substances either didn’t exist there before, or were present in much smaller quantities. We are sharing this information with our law enforcement partners in other countries.
- Has the drug trade in Ukraine also been affected?
- Yes. You can run operations remotely — all you need is a phone.
- How do you track the emergence of new laboratories in other countries or the expansion of the product range? Do you monitor individuals who were involved in the drug trade in Ukraine and then left the country?
- One of the main methods of drug distribution is contactless. Sales take place via the dark web. I won’t name specific platforms so as not to promote them.
When we analyze activity on these platforms, we see geographic indicators — flags of the countries where the "products" are being offered.
Drug traffickers also take advantage of the fact that while certain "chemicals" are difficult to smuggle into Ukraine due to restrictions, they can be freely imported into European countries if local legislation allows their circulation. So they bring in the necessary raw materials and set up lab operations there.
Last year, together with our Polish colleagues, we conducted a joint operation called "Osa" (Wasp) during which members of a drug trafficking group were detained. They had been setting up a new "business" on Polish territory.
Before the full-scale war, there was a group in Ukraine involved in the production of synthetic methadone. The leader of this group was such a skilled "cook" that he was able to train others, expanding the network and increasing drug production volumes.
When the war disrupted the supply of substances needed to manufacture the drug, the group, whose members had no intention of joining the fight, set their sights on leaving the country.
The organizer left Ukraine, established a supply channel for chemicals that were legal in Poland, and gradually began moving lab equipment out of the country. They disassembled the equipment, disguised it, and transported it in parts. One of the couriers responsible for this was a young woman.
We had been monitoring them for some time but didn’t have sufficient grounds to catch them red-handed and issue formal notices of suspicion. So we reached out to our Polish counterparts and informed them that equipment was being transported there, and that a new laboratory would soon be operational. They verified the information, and it was decided that we would work together. We carried out a series of coordinated actions and detained seven members of the drug trafficking group — three of them in Ukraine and four in Poland. The organizer was among those detained.
In total, nine clandestine drug labs were dismantled. Authorities seized 195 kilograms of methadone, 153 kilograms of alpha-PVP, 430 liters of synthetic cathinones (mixtures prepared for the final stage of production), and over 2 tonnes of precursors — with an estimated street value exceeding 600 million UAH.
- Were they able to manufacture anything?
- We seized 195 kilograms of methadone. Europol recognized this as the largest operation against synthetic opioids since the creation of the European Union.
Did the war have an impact? Yes, it did. Members of the criminal underworld left the country. They are looking for new ways to generate profit and continue their business.
- You mentioned that some "salts" are easy to produce, which is why they’re so widespread. What about harder drugs? Is cocaine being brought into Ukraine?
- It is. But there’s nothing like the demand seen in the U.S. or Latin American countries. When it appears on the market, we detect it and take action accordingly.
Compared to "salts," cocaine is significantly more expensive, which is why it’s not particularly popular.
- Since last year, there has been a growing trend of recruiting teenagers for acts of sabotage. As Deputy Head of the National Police Andrii Nebytov mentioned in an interview with our outlet, some of this is happening via Telegram channels.
Are you also seeing cases where minors are being drawn into other illegal activities — such as drug distribution? And are you conducting any preventive efforts? Or is that not a priority at the moment?
- For us, identifying and documenting individuals involved in criminal activity is just as important as prevention. Last year alone, officers from the department and territorial units carried out nearly 9,000 outreach events, reaching an audience of 40,000. These included middle and high school students, as well as university students. We regularly conduct awareness efforts with them.
We also created a comic book titled "Police Against Drugs. Youth Against Drugs. Together Against Drugs."
As for recruitment, the National Police and the Security Service of Ukraine have launched a broad information campaign to address this issue.
- You’ve emphasized several times that drug trafficking networks continue to look for ways to profit even during the war. Do you track how they launder the money they make?
- We closely cooperate with the State Tax Service. Thanks to this collaboration, for instance, in February of this year we uncovered a group engaged in laundering the proceeds of a drug syndicate with a monthly turnover of 18 million UAH.
More than a thousand so-called "drops" were involved in the money laundering scheme — individuals who, for a fee, provided access to their bank accounts for illicit financial transactions.
- And what about the property acquired by the leaders of such groups? What do you typically find?
- Premium-class vehicles, jewelry, real estate, and large sums of cash.
- Can you give an example?
- We documented the assets of one criminal organization that consisted of 17 individuals. They used cryptocurrency for transactions, converting it into USDT and later into cash.
A million hryvnias — what do you do with that? They started buying cars. They set up a passenger transportation business — essentially a taxi service — operating more than 40 vehicles.
This was also part of our joint efforts with the State Tax Service. In addition to seizing narcotics and documenting the illegal drug distribution activities, we also gathered evidence of money laundering — the legalization of funds obtained through criminal means.
- Is that taxi service still operating?
- The vehicles have been seized and are under court-ordered arrest.
- Last year, the legalization of medical cannabis sparked significant public debate. Are you currently seeing any abuse in the area of legal medical cannabis circulation?
- As of now, there are no business entities in Ukraine licensed to cultivate medical cannabis. Due to the pending registration of seed materials, actual cultivation has not yet begun.
There have been attempts to sell products in Ukraine under the guise of medical cannabis, but we responded to those cases accordingly.
Tetiana Bodnia, Censor.NET
