In a joint large-scale operation of the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (GDBOP) and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in our Black Sea resort, the organizer of a powerful international network for the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs was detained. The news was officially confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ukrainian special services.
Nationality and scale of the criminal network
The leader of the cartel arrested in our native resort is a Ukrainian citizen who was hiding in the Balkans while remotely leading a criminal organization of at least 30 people. He coordinated the activities of 14 illegal laboratories in Ukraine and the European Union for the production of alpha-PVP, mephedrone, amphetamines and precursors. The production capacity of his structures allowed the synthesis of over 50 kilograms of particularly dangerous psychotropic substances per month, generating an illegal turnover of about 2 million Ukrainian hryvnias.
The raid in Burgas and seized quantities
A key part of the cartel's logistical and production structure operated on the territory of the city of Burgas. As part of the investigation by the State Anti-Drug and Anti-Pharmaceutical Department and the Security Service of the Republic of Bulgaria, a high-tech base in the Burgas region was neutralized. Nearly 150 kilograms of precursors and finished psychotropic substances, as well as a specialized high-capacity production reactor, were seized in the depot in our country and during the synchronized arrests of his accomplices in the Kiev and Chernivtsi regions. To conceal the trafficking, the participants disguised the synthetic drugs as automotive chemicals and transported them in trucks for international transport.
Official statements by the authorities
The services emphasized the key importance of international exchange. The SBU press center revealed that access to the leader in Bulgaria became possible after counterintelligence actions and the detention of his courier in the Kiev region, who spoke to investigators.
For their part, representatives of the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Directorate for the Prevention of Money Laundering noted: “The exceptionally good interaction with the SBU allowed for the full documentation of the logistics chains in Burgas and the cash flows in cryptocurrency. This strike interrupts one of the most serious channels for synthetic drugs to Eastern Europe.“
The Ukrainian drug lord is currently in custody in Bulgaria. He is currently undergoing an expedited extradition procedure to Ukraine, where he faces up to 13 years in prison and complete confiscation of his property.