The SBU exposed a drug trafficking channel from Transcarpathia that hid cocaine in packages of washing powder

The Security Service of Ukraine, together with law enforcement officers, has uncovered an organized criminal group that was engaged in the storage, packaging, and sale of drugs in significant quantities, using postal services for delivery across Ukraine.

According to the investigation, a 27-year-old resident of Transcarpathia organized the supply of drugs in the country and involved several accomplices in his actions. Members of this group were responsible for storing prohibited substances in warehouses, packaging them, and preparing them for sale.

The criminals disguised cocaine as washing powder, sending it to customers in various regions of Ukraine, including Kyiv. Law enforcement officers recorded the sale of six pressed cocaine briquettes, each weighing about one kilogram. Its estimated value on the “black market” is in the hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

During the detention, one of the group’s co-founders was “red-handed”, and the other was detained at his place of residence in Uzhgorod. Both were detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

During searches of apartments, warehouses, and vehicles, cocaine, methamphetamine, mephedrone, computer equipment, mobile phones, packaging materials, postal receipts, cash, and draft notes were found.

The Transcarpathian Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Defense of the Western Region informed the defendants of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The prosecutors filed a motion for detention. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.