Operation Kratom: Police expose new participants in large-scale drug trafficking scheme

Operation Kratom continues. Officers of the Drug Crime Department in Ternopil region continue to document the facts of the distribution of a dangerous psychoactive substance. On Wednesday, law enforcement officers conducted twelve authorised searches in Rivne and Ivano-Frankivsk regions and identified new members of the criminal network. They include drug dealers across Ukraine, people who helped launder the proceeds and citizens who opened bank accounts for themselves to make payments. Some of the funds were transferred to cryptocurrency.

The police detained several defendants under Article 615 of the Criminal Procedure Code and served them with a notice of suspicion of drug trafficking on a particularly large scale. Other members of the group are being prepared to be served with suspicion notices and the issue of preventive measures is being decided.

The case was initiated after an officer of the educational security service of one of the schools in Ternopil suspected drug trafficking among students. Law enforcement officers then uncovered a large-scale kratom distribution network among young people, shut down an international supply channel, and seized seven hundred kilograms of the substance. Twenty-nine people were identified who sold kratom via Telegram disguised as tea and distributed it in schools and recreational facilities.

An investigation revealed that the supply was carried out by two groups from Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk region, which sold about ten tonnes of drugs in six months, making a profit of three hundred million hryvnias. The special operation was conducted under the supervision of the Regional Prosecutor's Office with the participation of the SBU DEA and KORD units. The investigation is ongoing.