MOSCOW, May 21. /TASS/. The Solntsevsky Court of Moscow declined the change of jurisdiction plea, filed by the attorneys of the defendants of the case concerning shipment of cocaine from Argentina to Russia and the EU. According to Alexander Kostanyants, the attorney of one of the defendants, the defense insists that the case must be reviewed in the Dorogomilovsky Court of Moscow.
"The jurisdiction of the case regarding our defendants has been chosen, based on the location of the landing of the plane at Vnukovo Airport, despite the fact that the security services packed all [suitcases] in cars, transported them to a Ministry of the Interior base, summoned the guys there allegedly to pick up the coffee [the defendants insist that someone replaced a shipment of coffee in their suitcases with cocaine — TASS] and then apprehended them there. This is why we insist that the Solntsevsky Court is not the court that is required in this situation, according to the law," the attorney said.
"The case must be reviewed in the Dorogomilovsky Сourt, because the apprehension took place at Vasilisy Kozhinoi Street [Moscow’s Western Administrative District — TASS]; however, the Solntsevsky Court declined our appeals today and refused to change jurisdiction."
The preliminary hearings on the case took place at the Solntsevsky Court on January 20, after which the jury was picked to review the case. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the court never began reviewing the case in substance and postponed substantial hearings five times, without dismissing the jury.
"Neither the jury, nor our defendants were present during today’s hearings, and there was no video link-up with the defendants," Kostanyants complained, adding that the next hearing was scheduled for June 16.
The 12 Queens operation
The criminal proceeding was initiated on November 15, 2017. In late February 2018, the Russian Foreign Ministry disclosed a joint operation by Russian and Argentinian law enforcement agencies ("the 12 queens") on thwarting a shipment of a large batch of drugs to the European market. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a shipment of 362kg of cocaine, discovered in one of the Russian embassy's buildings in Buenos Aires, belonged to Ali Abyanov, a member of the embassy’s technical staff, who by that moment had already finished his mission.
During the investigation, three suspects, including Abyanov, were nabbed in Russia and two more in Argentina. The suspected mastermind, Andrei Kovalchuk, was apprehended in Germany.
The apprehension of the two Russian suspects took place in December 2017 at the Ministry of the Interior base located in the west of Moscow, where the two came to pick up their cargo. During the operation, the cocaine was replaced with flour. Abyanov was apprehended later that day near his own house; he partially admitted his guilt, but later denied his testimonies. The defendants were charged with a crime attempt and an organized drug smuggling operation.
Meanwhile in 2018, Argentine law enforcement officers burned the cocaine, discovered in the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires. The drug was destroyed in a crematorium, in the presence of the minister of security of Argentina and the Russian ambassador. In late April 2019, the Russian Interior Ministry wrapped up the investigation and rolled out the final indictment against all defendants. The defendants deny their guilt.