Officers of the FCS Russia Anti-Smuggling Directorate, working with the Central Operational Customs and the Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate for Drug Control, shut down a channel moving the synthetic drug α-PVP to Kyrgyzstan: more than three kilograms of the substance were seized, with a black-market value exceeding RUB 15 million. Source: FCS Russia.
During operational work in the Moscow Region, officers stopped a car and found three clear bags of powder inside.
Investigators established that a 30-year-old Russian member of an organized crime group had disguised the narcotic and handed it to a courier as supposedly lawful goods for onward delivery to Kyrgyzstan.
Forensic testing confirmed that the bags contained the synthetic narcotic α-PVP.
The sender was detained; more than 700 g of synthetic drugs intended for illegal sale were additionally seized from him. In Bishkek, another group member who was to receive the consignment was also detained.
In Russia a criminal case was opened against the sender under Article 229.1(4)(a) and (b) of the Criminal Code (illicit movement of narcotic drugs by an organized group on an especially large scale); the article allows penalties up to life imprisonment.
The investigation continues. The operation was conducted jointly with Kyrgyzstan’s State Customs Committee and Interior Ministry.