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Over 30 kg of amphetamines seized during drug raid in St. Petersburg

The suspects have been charged with illegal production, sale or trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances

© Artiom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. The St. Petersburg police have detained seven people suspected of trafficking drugs online, having seized 30 kg of amphetamines during the raid, Russian Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Irina Volk informed TASS on Thursday.

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"17 simultaneous raids have been conducted within the investigation, seven people have been detained, including the suspected organizer and systems administrator, along with two call center operators and three people who placed drugs in previously agreed locations. The online shop, which was selling about a kilogram of amphetamines a day, has been shut down," she said.

"We have documented cases of aggressive marketing of the online shop in places of entertainment, night clubs, as well as marketing through sending targeted messages to drug users. This approach brought in a large number of active customers, who placed up to 200 orders a day for the purchase of the illegal substance. On the outcomes of the search at the suspects’ places of residence, over 30 kilograms of amphetamines have been discovered, along with computers, routers, phones, packaging equipment, bank cards, over 50 SIM cards and fake passports. Several premium-class vehicles have been confiscated in order to ensure the execution of the sentence," Volk stated.

The suspects have been charged under Article 228.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (illegal production, sale or trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances).

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