Crackdown on Major Drug Syndicate in Ukraine
In a series of raids, authorities have uncovered and dismantled two drug laboratories and three warehouses stocked with precursors and equipment. Police seized 44 explosive devices, 30 kg of salts, and over 5,000 liters of precursors.
The criminal group operated like an industrial enterprise: they had their own production of salts and amphetamines, a quality control system, accounting, and logistics. Utilizing modern technologies, the members masked their warehouses and two fully equipped drug labs in storage facilities, producing more than 15 kg of psychotropics monthly.
The organization had a clear structure and effective communication systems. It comprised thirteen individuals from Kherson, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi regions. Two members operating within Ukraine fully established all technological processes, following instructions from an unidentified organizer with a Russian phone number, who coordinated activities remotely via messenger.
Each member of the group had specific roles. Some were involved in the production and packaging of psychotropic substances, others supplied precursors and equipment, while others organized transportation, and some members were responsible for storage, sales, and financial operations.
The organizers trained participants not only in confidential packaging and dispatching of the finished product but also in independently producing it according to detailed technological instructions. They possessed specialized knowledge in chemistry or utilized professional advice from open sources, allowing them to enhance production processes. Coordination among participants was carried out through the Telegram messenger, where law enforcement documented numerous chats discussing the production, packaging, storage, and dispatch of finished batches. Each batch was personally monitored by the organizers—criminal correspondences contained photo reports, weight indicators, and dispatch confirmations. Psychotropics were disseminated through delivery services. To disguise shipments, they were labeled as household goods in postal documents. Participants used fictitious personal data to receive such packages. Investigators from the Main Investigative Department of the National Police, with the operational support of the Department for Combating Drug Crimes and the Security Service of Ukraine, conducted searches at the residences of the individuals involved, in warehouses, and at the laboratory, seizing laboratory equipment, reactors, 44 explosive devices, 700 liters of chemical compounds for the production of psychotropics, 5,000 liters of precursors, 30 kg of alpha-PVP salts, and other tangible evidence. All members of the organized group have been charged with illegal production, storage, and distribution of psychotropic substances, committed by an organized group (Part 1 of Article 255, Part 2 of Article 255, Part 3 of Article 307, Part 3 of Article 311, Part 4 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 317) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They face up to twelve years of imprisonment with asset confiscation. Currently, the pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement is working to identify the organizer with the Russian phone number who coordinated the drug syndicate's activities. The procedural oversight is being conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
