Crackdown on Drug Trafficking in Ukraine

In a significant law enforcement operation, Ukrainian police have shut down an interregional channel for the distribution of narcotic and psychotropic substances disguised as legal dietary supplements called «CBD». On January 14, simultaneous searches took place across 21 regions, resulting in over a hundred raids. The organizer of the scheme and two accomplices have been detained and charged with involvement in an organized crime group.
During the investigation, personnel from the drug enforcement unit and detectives from the Volyn Regional Police Department uncovered the criminal activities of a 44-year-old man from Volyn. The operation was conducted under the guidance of the Volyn regional prosecutor’s office and with the support of special police units.
It was determined that the suspect had established a serial production of CBD products containing narcotic cannabis extract and the psychotropic substance THC. He set up a drug lab in his home, where he lived with his wife and three minor children, personally overseeing the production of THC-infused products disguised as dietary supplements and facilitating their sale through a network of stores.
His accomplices, residents of the Volyn region, focused on creating new food products disguised as CBD, sought additional distribution channels, packaged, and shipped the products to other regions.
During the pre-trial investigation, a supply channel for CBD raw materials from a European Union country to Ukraine was documented, involving logistics companies. With this substance, the suspects established an entire underground production infrastructure, including separate labs for producing high-concentration cannabis extract under the guise of CBD and making gummy products.
The finished narcotic products were sold through a vast distribution network – 17 stores in the Volyn region and 75 retail outlets across the country, as well as via online resources. A well-structured logistics and distribution system allowed them to generate a stable monthly income exceeding 10 million UAH.
With the support of special forces, on January 14, police conducted over a hundred searches in 21 regions. More than 1,000 liters of high-concentration CBD oil containing cannabis extract (33,830 bottles), 18,100 THC tea sticks, over 2,000 zip bags with THC (capsules, candies, chocolate), 70 kg of psilocybin mushrooms, over 10,000 gelatin gummies with THC, more than 3,500 ampoules of dietary supplements containing cannabis extract, laboratory equipment for producing narcotic substances, as well as vehicles, cash, bank cards, mobile phones, and documentation were seized.
The estimated value of the seized THC and cannabis extract products on the black market exceeds 430 million UAH.
Three participants were detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. They were charged, under the supervision of the prosecutor's office, with being part of an organized crime group under part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, with the court selecting preventive measures. The sanction for part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for imprisonment from nine to twelve years with confiscation of property.
The operations in Ukraine were ensured by operatives from the drug enforcement department of the Volyn Regional Police together with detectives from main police departments across several regions.