Russia suppresses drug trafficking syndicate, seizes 1 billion rubles of substances

Russia suppresses drug trafficking syndicate, seizes 1 billion rubles of substances 27 suspects were detainedMOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. Police officers have detained 27 people in several Russian regions suspected of more than 30 drug crimes, and seized over 1 billion rubles of illegal substances, Interior Ministry official representative Irina Volk said. "The activities of a large interregional syndicate of drug producers and traffickers were stopped by my colleagues from the Main Directorate for Drug Control of the Interior Ministry of Russia, together with police officers from the Republic of Bashkortostan, Krasnodar and Stavropol Regions, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Samara, Ryazan and Magadan Regions and employees of the investigative Department of the Interior Ministry of Russia. 27 defendants were detained, who are suspected of more than 30 drug crimes," she wrote on Max messenger. Volk added that the attackers had organized a full cycle of trafficking in synthetic drugs. The banned substances were produced by a network of clandestine laboratories, delivered in bulk to the regions and sold through stores in the shadow segment of the Internet. "The police seized more than 150 kg of various narcotic drugs, which represents about 400,000 single doses, as well as over 300 kg of precursors. The value of the substances withdrawn from illicit trafficking at black market prices exceeds 1 billion rubles," Volk added. The Interior Ministry is investigating a criminal case on the grounds of crimes provided for in Articles 30, 228.1 and 210 of the Criminal Code. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment. The detainees were arrested. 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