National police liquidated large-scale transit channel of heroin to EU countries — Igor Klymenko
The Head of the National Police of Ukraine Igor Klymenko announced this today, June 22. The total weight of the seized batch of heroin is 235 kg, its estimated value is more than 10 million euros.
“As a result of a joint special operation of law enforcement officers of Ukraine and Moldova, a powerful channel of supply of heroin from Iran to the countries of the European Union has been eliminated. Documenting the transnational crime group took more than six months. The defendants are citizens of Moldova and Turkey. 235 kilograms of heroin worth more than 10 million euros were seized,” Igor Klymenko said.
In December last year, the operatives of the Department for Combating Drug Crimes received information that a foreign group of persons plans to establish the supply of a narcotic drug - heroin, in particularly large quantities to the EU countries. The drug through Ukraine was to be followed by transit to neighboring Moldova, from where it was planned to be “exported” to the countries of the European Union.
“On the initiative of the NPU, an agreement was signed on international cooperation with law enforcement officers of Moldova on the creation of a joint investigative-operational group,” said First Deputy Head of the National Police Yevgeny Koval.
The attackers operated according to a carefully thought-out scheme: they created several fictitious construction firms and transported drugs under the guise of building materials. Heroin was disguised in dummies — hollow bricks. From Iran, the drug traveled in transit through Ukraine to Moldova, where drug dealers rented an entire warehouse to pack the “goods”. Then this heroin was to enter the black market of the European Union.
“During the documentation process, it turned out that the attackers were well prepared to smuggle heroin. First, they studied the route of the movement of trucks, delved into the intricacies of crossing borders and procedural checks. As a result, having been well prepared, they decided to transport a large batch of a particularly dangerous drug - heroin - from Iran through the territory of Ukraine to Moldova, and later - to the countries of the European Union,” said the head of the Department for Combating Narcotics of the National Police Serhiy Fedchenko.
According to him, an international special operation was planned to expose the criminal group, in which about a hundred law enforcement officers of Ukraine and Moldova, including the State Customs Service, took part.
“7 members of a transnational group of drug dealers are detained, they face up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property. Successful result of effective international cooperation”, - emphasized the Head of the National Police Igor Klymenko.
