Police conducted 230 searches and exposed an interregional criminal organization consisting of 67 members who manufactured and sold psychotropic substances - alpha-PVP, amphetamine and mephedrone, on an industrial scale. Drugs worth over 2 billion hryvnias were seized. Law enforcement officers conducted a multi-stage special operation in 15 regions. They eliminated 19 drug laboratories and 17 warehouses, and declared suspicions against all members of the group. About this reported the National Police of Ukraine.
The criminal activities of the organized drug gang were exposed and liquidated by operatives of the Department for Combating Drug Crime together with investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police in cooperation with the Criminal Investigation Department of the Main Directorates of the National Police in Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernihiv regions and the city of Kyiv and the investigative departments of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the regions, with the USBU in Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office and regional prosecutors' offices in cooperation with the virtual asset tracing company Crystal Intelligence.
The police have established that a 32-year-old man, a native of Donetsk region, who lives in Kyiv region and was previously convicted of trafficking in precursors, is behind the organization of a large-scale drug business and the formation of a stable criminal group. The criminal group included 66 more people who ensured the functioning of an extensive network of drug laboratories and sold psychotropic substances throughout Ukraine.
The group had a developed hierarchical structure with a clear division of roles between its members. Some accomplices coordinated the uninterrupted supply of precursors for the manufacture of narcotics from the European Union and Asia to Ukraine. Such a transnational transit channel, which was called "The Road" among criminals, was established by the leader of the group himself.
Other dealers were responsible for the proper maintenance of warehouses where psychotropic substances, precursors, other chemical compounds and laboratory equipment were packaged and stored. Later, members of the organization transferred such “products” to other accomplices, using the services of logistics companies, or by breaking down the bookmarks. Another link of dealers played the role of so-called laboratory chemists, in particular, in specially equipped laboratories they synthesized precursors to psychotropic substances.
Representatives of the last link of the criminal group were responsible for selling the finished "goods" in bulk to all regions of Ukraine. For this purpose, distributors were involved, who disguised the drugs in shipments and sent them to "clients" under fictitious personal data, or created "master packages". In order to mislead delivery service workers, the drugs were also disguised as various goods. In particular, drug dealers from the capital sent them under the guise of intimate products, applying the company stamps of the relevant stores to the packaging. In addition, the criminals created and administered Telegram channels and other web resources, where they advertised substances prohibited for circulation and communicated with potential "buyers".
Every month, the group members produced over 700 kg of psychotropic products, which at "black" market prices is over 300 million hryvnias.
Payments for sold drugs were made mainly in cryptocurrency, which ensured the anonymity of criminal activity.
Law enforcement officers, with the support of special police officers of the Main Police Department in the regions, conducted a multi-stage special operation in 14 regions and the capital. As a result of 232 searches, 19 drug laboratories and 17 warehouses with psychotropic products were liquidated. 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 phenylnitropropene precursor (200 kg of amphetamine), over 17 tons of precursors, from which about 3,5 thousand kg of finished "products" could be produced, laboratory equipment, bank cards, "draft" records, 26 cars and over 5 million hryvnia cash equivalent were seized.
The total amount of drugs seized during the investigation is equivalent to 17 million doses. The sale of such a batch of finished "goods" could have brought the suspects about 2 billion hryvnias in illegal profit.
Police officers detained 67 members of a criminal group under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
Police investigators informed them of suspicion under a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, depending on their involvement in illegal activities:
- — 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 transfer 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. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
