More than 100 searches and more than a dozen detainees: drug cartel busted in large-scale operation

Law enforcement officers conducted a large-scale two-stage special operation to eliminate a criminal organization that legalized millions in profits through the bank accounts of front persons, the National Police reported on Wednesday, UNN reports.

Details

According to the police, the criminals packaged and distributed a precursor used for industrial-scale amphetamine production. The goods were sold through postal shipments or "master classes".

This is how he got into a network of 18 drug labs operating in six regions of the country.

Every month, more than 60 kg of amphetamine was produced from this raw material, which was distributed contactlessly through anonymous telegram channels. The group's monthly profit reached UAH 18 million.

The operation involved more than 100 searches in ten regions and Kyiv. Elite cars, $80,000 in various currencies, 60 kg of cannabis, 7 kg of a-PVP, 3.5 kg of amphetamine, 900 MDMA pills, as well as fake bank accounts and SIM cards were seized.

With the assistance of the State Tax Service, law enforcement officers also exposed a separate group of criminals engaged in money laundering in Kyiv. They found citizens who agreed to provide their personal data for a fee to open bank accounts and create personal accounts in mobile applications. These accounts were used to receive millions of dollars in profits from the illegal sale of precursors for amphetamine production. 

In this way, the suspects used more than a thousand straw men. During the year, more than UAH 200 million was withdrawn from their accounts to two cryptocurrency wallets, which were subsequently cashed in Cyprus.

Police investigators have gathered enough evidence to serve suspicion notices to 16 members of the drug cartel. 11 suspects were detained.

Depending on the degree of involvement, they are prosecuted under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:

- ч. 2 Art. 255 (Establishment, leadership of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it);

- ч. 3 of Art. 307 (Illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation, shipment or sale of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues);

- ч. 3 of Art. 311 (Illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, storage, transportation or shipment of precursors);

- ч. 3 of Art. 209 (Legalization (laundering) of the proceeds of crime)

Addendum

The State Tax Service helped law enforcement officers expose a scheme to legalize the proceeds of an interregional drug cartel worth over UAH 200 million.