The National Police have uncovered a drug trafficking route from the EU to Ukraine
Officers from the Department for Combating Drug-Related Crime, in collaboration with investigators from the National Police’s Main Investigation Directorate, have uncovered and dismantled a supply chain for cannabis extract from European Union countries to Ukraine. Staff from the departments for combating drug-related crime in Kyiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odesa regions also took part in the special operation. The proceedings were supervised by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
According to the investigation, the organiser of the scheme was a 34-year-old resident of Kyiv. He recruited four accomplices to carry out the illegal activities. The group had a clear hierarchical structure and operated according to a pre-determined plan.
To implement the scheme, the organiser established contact with a person residing in one of the European Union countries. Together, they organised a mechanism for the smuggling of cannabis extract into Ukraine. The prohibited substance, in particularly large quantities, was disguised as food products and sent to Ukraine.
The group members filled electronic smoking devices, so-called pod systems, with the cannabis extract they received. To sell the product, they set up and managed an online shop through which they took orders. The drugs were sent by post directly to buyers or accomplices who acted as dealers in various regions of the country.
According to law enforcement officials, the monthly income from this activity exceeded 10 million hryvnias.
During the special operation, law enforcement officers, with the support of personnel from the Tactical Operational Response Unit of the Patrol Police Department and in cooperation with the Internal Security Directorate of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, carried out over 30 searches across the Dnipropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv and Odesa regions, as well as in Kyiv.
As a result, they seized over 4 kilograms of illegally imported cannabis extract, which could have been used to produce around 4,000 pod systems. Law enforcement officers also seized 3.5 kilograms of gummy bears containing narcotic substances, 721 pod systems filled with cannabis extract, 3,700 empty pod systems, computer equipment, data storage devices, mobile phones, bank cards, SIM cards, ammunition and six vehicles.
The value of the seized drugs on the black market is over 17 million hryvnias.
The organiser of the criminal activity was detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. He and four accomplices have been notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The issue of imposing a preventive measure in the form of detention is currently being decided.
The members of the group face up to twelve years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property.
