Police detain Odesa resident with drug consignment worth 20 million

Police officers detained an 18-year-old resident of Odesa on suspicion of complicity in an organized group involved in drug trafficking.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast.

According to the police, during the search, law enforcement officers seized more than 21 kilograms of prohibited substances, namely

• 21 kilograms of the psychotropic substance a-PVP;
• 100 grams of cannabis packaged for sale.

Photo: National Police in Odesa region

Law enforcement officers also seized cell phones, SIM cards, and rough recordings. The estimated value of the seized drug batch on the black market is about UAH 20 million. The police sent the physical evidence for examination to the State Research Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

Investigators claim that the detainee is a member of a criminal group that provided drugs and psychotropics to residents of Odesa. To deliver drugs to customers, he used the services of a logistics company and made so-called bookmarks, i.e. left drugs in some agreed place or reported such a place later.

This is not the first large batch of drugs seized by law enforcement this summer. In July, law enforcement officers detained a foreign citizen in Odesa who was trying to smuggle 15 kilograms of heroin from Turkey through the city to Europe, which, according to preliminary estimates, is worth 63 million hryvnias, or more than $1 million.

In June, a court in Odesa sentenced members of the world-famous Ndrangheta criminal organization who were found guilty of drug smuggling and sale. The case concerned a shipment of cocaine that was seized in August 2021 at the Pivdennyi port. It was planned to be transported in transit through Ukraine abroad. A week later, law enforcement officers seized another batch of cocaine at the port. A total of 120 kilograms worth $20 million.

Кирило Бойко