The police of Kyiv arrested two individuals involved in drug trafficking, seizing "goods" worth approximately 16 million hryvnias.
The men established an underground shop where they sold illicit substances, hiding them in fake sound systems. This illegal activity could lead to a ten-year prison sentence for both.
The arrests were made during the sale of another batch of narcotics by operatives and investigators, with support from the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv and the surrounding region.
Authorities discovered that over the past 18 months, these individuals had been illegally selling drugs through a secret shop. Their inventory included a wide range of narcotic and psychoactive substances, with client communications conducted via a private Telegram channel.
The suspects received payments through a crypto wallet, using taxi services for deliveries, cleverly hiding the packages inside fake audio systems. Investigators found that their earnings amounted to about 25-30 thousand dollars each month.
The arrested individuals are a 22-year-old native of Kyiv region and his 38-year-old accomplice from Dnipropetrovsk region, who orchestrated this criminal operation.
The main suspect had been living in a semi-basement of a former restaurant in the capital, where they created a storage facility for the drugs. During urgent searches, law enforcement seized 1.5 kg of cocaine, 300 ecstasy pills, mephedrone, cannabis, and other physical evidence.
The suspects have been charged under part 1, 2 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – for illegal acquisition, transportation, and storage of narcotic substances in large quantities with the intent to distribute. The penalty can reach up to ten years imprisonment with property confiscation. They have been remanded in custody with the right to post bail of 250 thousand hryvnias.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement is conducting investigative actions to clarify all circumstances of the organized scheme and to identify possible additional participants.
