Anti-drug units, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and in coordination with Europol and Eurojust, dismantled a transnational drug smuggling ring. Among those arrested are individuals with “high” criminal standing, including a former crime boss nicknamed “Moskal,” associates of a former member of parliament, and a village council member who had been fighting drug trafficking.
Andrii Niebytov, the deputy head of the National Police, has announced this, according to the Ukrainian News agency.
As a result of a large-scale special operation, a network that supplied cocaine and methamphetamine to European countries was exposed.
Twenty members of the criminal organization were detained in Ukraine and abroad.
“And here I want to remind everyone: no one is untouchable. Among those detained are individuals with ‘high’ criminal standing, including a former crime boss nicknamed ‘Moskal,’ associates of a former member of the Verkhovna Rada, and—most cynically of all— a village council member, a staunch fighter against drug trafficking who hid behind loud slogans,” Niebytov said.
Drug dealers transported drugs on intercity buses, hiding the “merchandise” in children’s toys, and in their own cars, disguising it as household chemicals.
Law enforcement officials are investigating reports of cross-border deliveries via drones.
A total of 113 searches were conducted in three countries. Methamphetamine and cocaine, prepared for sale, were seized.
"This involved thousands of hours of analytical work, real-time data sharing, and full coordination of actions among our partners from different countries. The operation was made possible thanks to the flawless work of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT). It included operatives from the Transcarpathian Drug Enforcement Directorate, employees of the Eastern Division (Košice) of the Department for Combating Drug Crime of the Presidium of the Police of the Slovak Republic, and officers from the Criminal Police and Investigations Service in Prague of the National Department for Combating Illegal Drug Trafficking, with the participation of the National Police of Ukraine’s Drug Control Bureau and the State Border Guard Service," added the deputy head of the National Police.
According to him, modern crime knows no borders, and today the National Police of Ukraine has examples of successful work at both the European and intercontinental levels.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Dmytro Torhalo, the head of the Department for Combating Drug Trafficking, noted that there are now more women involved in the drug trade in Ukraine.
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