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False articles about cocaine case to be handed over to law enforcement agencies — diplomat

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman called on journalists to use only confirmed information

MOSCOW, March 7. /TASS/. Blatantly false articles about the joint Russian-Argentine operation to prevent cocaine trafficking, will be handed over to Russian law enforcement agencies for analysis and may be introduced in the case, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

According to her, a campaign concerning this incident, which has been going on in the media and on social networks, is becoming more and more biased. "We have been analyzing such articles and will hand them over to Russian law enforcement agencies for further analysis so that they could be introduced in the case," the diplomat noted.

"These speculations and information attacks clearly can’t be spontaneous," Zakharova went on to say. "We have taken note that often these articles are published by media outlets financed by foreign governments, which cannot but cause concern," she added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman once again called on journalists to use only confirmed information. "We are ready to answer your questions but we would like to reiterate that an investigation is underway," she said.

Cocaine smuggling case

The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Russian and Argentine law enforcement agencies had carried out a joint operation to prevent the smuggling of a large shipment of cocaine (389 kilos) to Europe. The Foreign Ministry noted that the drug shipment found on the premises of the Russian embassy in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires belonged to the embassy’s technical staff member whose period of work at the diplomatic mission had ended by then.

According to the FSB press service, three suspects have been apprehended in Russia, two in Argentina and one - the alleged mastermind - was arrested in Germany.

A criminal case in this connection was launched on November 15, 2017. In December, three suspects - Ishtimir Khudzhamov, Ali Abyanov and Vladimir Kalmykov - were arrested.