Large-scale drug network uncovered in special operation "Rubicon", 104 detained in Ukraine and abroad - Prosecutor General Kravchenko
Kyiv • UNN
Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova conducted operation "Rubicon", liquidating a transnational drug network. 104 people were detained, 34 drug laboratories and 74 warehouses were uncovered.
Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and other countries conducted a large-scale special operation "Rubicon" to eliminate a transnational criminal drug network - 104 detained, 506 searches conducted, 34 drug laboratories, 74 warehouses exposed, reported Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Thursday on social networks, writes UNN.
Operation "Rubicon". Under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office and regional prosecutor's offices, jointly with law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, within the framework of international cooperation with Europol, a large-scale infrastructure for industrial production and sale of drugs has been exposed.
Details
According to the Prosecutor General, the network provided a full cycle of drug business: contraband supply of precursors from EU countries → industrial production → logistics → sale on the markets of Ukraine, Poland, Georgia and Moldova.
"The work of a stable criminal infrastructure was built on the principle of clear division of functions and conspiracy. The involved groups acted both in conjunction and autonomously. A laboratory could be an ordinary living room in a house. The criminals expanded the production infrastructure beyond Ukraine, creating two drug laboratories in Poland," Kravchenko said.
As the Prosecutor General noted, the dealers packaged and sold the products through online platforms and closed chats in messengers. "Payments were made in cryptocurrency or cash," he pointed out.
"A key factor in the practical stage of the operation was synchronicity: Ukrainian and Polish law enforcement officers conducted separate phases simultaneously so that network participants on both sides of the border would not have time to warn each other, remove raw materials or destroy evidence," the Prosecutor General noted.
According to him, the results in figures.
"506 searches were conducted. 104 people were detained, 97 of them in Ukraine, 6 in Poland and 1 in Moldova. 123 people were notified of suspicion. 34 drug laboratories and 74 warehouses with finished products were neutralized," Kravchenko reported.
According to the Prosecutor General, the following were seized from illegal circulation:
- 219.3 kg of a-PVP (~ UAH 109.1 million);
- 156.3 kg of amphetamine (~ UAH 78.6 million);
- 17.6 kg of mephedrone (~ UAH 10.6 million);
- 7 kg of methamphetamine (~ UAH 3.5 million);
- 47 kg of cannabis (~ UAH 18.4 million);
- 5,115 MDMA pills (~ UAH 2.6 million);
- 2,000 ecstasy pills (~ UAH 1 million);
- 12 g of cocaine (~ UAH 67 thousand).
Separately, according to him, the precursor phenylnitropropene was seized, from which 300 kg of drug products could have been made - about 12 million doses worth over UAH 150 million.
"Taking into account precursors, the total volume of seized goods exceeds 27 million doses worth about UAH 400 million," the Prosecutor General pointed out.
"Also seized: UAH 1.6 million, USD 167 thousand, EUR 39 thousand, USDT 45 thousand in cryptocurrency and 41 cars," Kravchenko noted.
Pre-trial investigation continues.
"We continue to work," the Prosecutor General emphasized.