Ukraine’s police busts massive drug syndicate: 66 arrested in nationwide operation
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.
As of 17:30, officers from the Department for Combating Drug-related Crime, in close cooperation with units from the Main Departments of the National Police in Chernihiv, Sumy, Zhytomyr, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odesa, Lviv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Volyn, Mykolaiv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, and Kyiv regions, as well as the city of Kyiv, together with investigators of the National Police, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), with operational support from police special forces, apprehended 66 dealers along with the group's leader.
The suspects had established a widespread network of drug laboratories and storage facilities, where they manufactured, packaged, and stored prohibited substances.
“Each month, the group produced over 700 kilograms of drugs, which were supplied to consumers across various regions of Ukraine. On the black market, this volume is valued at more than 300 million UAH. As a result of the investigation, 17 drug labs and 15 warehouses with psychotropic substances were dismantled,” the report states.
Seized materials included: 118 kg of mephedrone, 160 liters of reaction mixtures for mephedrone (equivalent to 80 kg of finished product), 156 kg of alpha-PVP, over 30 kg of amphetamine, and 12 tons of chemical precursors.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, 66 members of the drug syndicate have been detained and formally charged. They face accusations under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including: Creation, leadership, and participation in a criminal organization, smuggling of precursors in especially large quantities, illegal production, possession, and trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, organization or maintenance of sites for illegal drug use or manufacture, illegal acquisition, possession, and trafficking of precursors for the purpose of drug production and distribution.
Investigative actions are ongoing.
As previously reported by Ukrinform, Ukrainian police arrested two members and the organizer of another criminal group that smuggled cocaine from Central America, with an estimated monthly street value of UAH 8 million.
