Police have revealed new details about the exposure of an interregional gang that manufactured and sold drugs throughout Ukraine. In total, they seized drugs worth more than 2 billion hryvnias.
This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.
Law enforcement officers conducted a multi-stage special operation in 15 regions of Ukraine. During the operation, they liquidated 19 drug laboratories and 17 warehouses and declared all members of the group — 67 people — under suspicion.
A 32-year-old man, a native of the Donetsk region, who currently lives in the Kyiv region and was previously convicted of drug trafficking, is suspected of running the drug business.
According to the investigation, the gang had a developed hierarchy with a clear division of roles. Some accomplices coordinated the uninterrupted supply of precursors for drug production from the European Union and Asia to Ukraine. Such a transnational transit channel, which was called "The Road" among its members, was established by the leader of the group himself, the police say.
Other suspects maintained warehouses where they packaged and stored drugs and laboratory equipment. The "products" were then passed on to other gang members, using logistics companies or setting up depots, the National Police allege. Some people synthesized drugs in special laboratories.
The police say that the drugs were sent to all regions of Ukraine. To do this, they involved distributors who disguised the drugs in shipments and sent them to “clients” under fictitious personal data or created “master packages”. To do this, the drugs were disguised as other goods. According to the investigation, they were marked with labels and branded stamps of intimate stores. In addition, the suspects created Telegram channels and other web resources on which they advertised and sold drugs.
Each month, the gang members produced over 700 kg of drugs — worth over 300 million hryvnias at black market prices. They paid for the “goods” in cryptocurrency to maintain anonymity.
Law enforcement officers conducted a multi-stage special operation in 14 regions and the capital. A total of 232 searches were conducted — 118 kg of mephedrone, 160 liters of mephedrone reaction mixtures (80 kg of mephedrone), 156 kg of alpha-PVP, 30 kg of amphetamine, 250 kg of the precursor phenylnitropropene (200 kg of amphetamine), over 17 tons of precursors, from which approximately 3.5 tons of finished "products" could be produced, laboratory equipment, bank cards, draft notes. And also — 26 cars and over 5 million hryvnia cash equivalent.
The total amount of drugs seized during the investigation is equivalent to 17 million doses. The sale of such a batch costs almost 2 billion hryvnias.
The detainees were informed of suspicions under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- Part 1, Part 2 of Article 255 (Creation, leadership of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it);
- Part 4 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 305 (Smuggling of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues or precursors, or counterfeit medicines);
- Part 3 of Article 307 (Illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation, shipment or sale of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues);
- Part 2 of Article 310 (Sowing or growing of sleeping poppy or hemp);
- Part 3 of Article 311 (Illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation or shipment of precursors);
- Part 2 of Article 317 (Organization or maintenance of places for the illegal use, production or manufacture of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues;
- Part 2 of Article 317 (Organization or maintenance of places for illegal use, production or manufacture of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues).
The suspects face up to 12 years in prison.
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