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Interior Ministry says court sentenced 22 members of drug ring to jail terms

The gang, known as Khimprom, trafficked up to 500 kilograms of drugs a week, Irina Volk, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman said

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/. The Interior Ministry on Friday said a Moscow Region court sentenced 22 members of a major drug trafficking ring to prison terms ranging from 11 · to 20 years.

The gang, known as Khimprom, trafficked up to 500 kilograms of drugs a week, Irina Volk, an Interior Ministry spokeswoman told TASS.

The court passed the verdict on the gang members, of which 21 people were Ukrainian nationals and one was Russian, on Friday, she said.

Volk said the criminal group had existed from 2015 to the end of 2016 and operated in the Moscow and Sverdlovsk regions.

Police liquidated three laboratories in the Moscow Region, which produced from 150 kg to 500 kg of synthetic drugs a week. Police also thwarted the gang’s distribution network which used nooks in vehicles to deliver the drugs to 14 Russian regions. In addition, police raided large warehouses and seized more than 9.5 tons of synthetic drugs and lab equipment.

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