MOSCOW, November 28. /TASS/. Law enforcement officers have uncovered a Ukraine-controlled network of drug laboratories, detaining 21 people and seizing 1.5 tons of mephedrone, according to the MVD Media Telegram channel.

"It has been established that the perpetrators spent years to create a whole network of drug laboratories in the Moscow, Pskov and Ryazan regions. Currently, police have detained 21 suspects, 12 of them Ukrainians. In the Pskov Region alone, about 5 tons of precursors and about 150 kg of ready-to-use mephedrone were found. A total of almost 1.5 tons of the synthetic drugs, as well as more than 35 tons of components for its manufacture were seized as part of a preliminary investigation," the Telegram channel said.

The Interior Ministry said that the drug group's operations were directed from Ukraine. In 2020, a network of drug laboratories in the Moscow region was revealed, more than a ton of mephedrone was seized, as well as more than 30 tons of precursors and other chemical reagents. Sixteen suspects were detained, including 11 Ukrainians and five Russians. The perpetrators were charged with leading or participating in a criminal ring, as well as drug trafficking. The investigation of the criminal case established that the criminal organization included leaders, organizers, recruiters and chemists who produced mephedrone in six laboratories, as well as supervisors, administrators, operators, so-called delivery and sales departments.

"Recruiters acted on the territory of Ukraine to bring in new participants in the illegal activity who are the nationals of that country. They subsequently came to the Russian Federation, rented premises, purchased equipment and began to produce drugs. The finished goods were placed in caches on the territory of the Moscow Region, and then sold through dedicated online stores," the statement said.

To promote these sites, memorable names and logos were invented and logos were designed, and an active advertising campaign was conducted on the Internet. In the course of the investigation, dozens of site inspections and identifications were conducted, more than 60 witnesses were questioned, and more than 70 expert examinations were carried out. Criminal experts from the Russian Interior Ministry confirmed in the course of the investigation that the offenders could produce more than 935 kilograms of mephedrone from the precursors that were seized. A few months ago, the files of the criminal case, numbering 189 volumes, along with an authorized indictment, were transferred to the Moscow Regional Court for consideration on the merits.

The Interior Ministry added that it later turned out that the activities of the perpetrators were not confined to the Moscow Region. It was established that under the remote guidance of the same supervisor located in Ukraine, a 44-year-old resident of St. Petersburg purchased a residential house with a plot of land in a village in the Pskov Region. He used the property to install equipment for the production of synthetic drugs. In addition, the perpetrator organized regular deliveries of chemical reagents from Moscow and attracted three accomplices to the illegal activity, who manufactured drugs.

"Four suspects were detained red-handed by police officers. Seized were about 5 tons of precursors, laboratory equipment, as well as more than 147 kg of the drug mephedrone, which is more than 440,000 single doses," the statement said.

In the course of further work, a citizen of Ukraine was detained on suspicion of equipping three clandestine laboratories in the Ryazan Region.

"He didn’t have enough time to start production of prohibited substances in two of them. The nine Ukrainians detained in these premises were expelled from the territory of the Russian Federation. In the third laboratory more than 170 kg of mephedrone was seized," the statement said.

Currently, the preliminary investigation of the criminal case against five defendants is at the final stage. The search for the organizer of the large network of drug laboratories for the production of synthetic drugs, who resides in Ukraine, continues. The court ruled in absentia to take him into custody.