Customs officers in Moscow Region seized nearly 21 kg of drugs shipped from Europe — 15 kg of brephedrone and 6 kg of hashish with an estimated black-market value of about RUB 51 million. The operation involved the FCS Main Directorate for Combating Smuggling together with the Central Operational Customs and Moscow Customs. Source: FCS Russia.
Investigators established that brephedrone had been sent from Poland via Belarus in a lorry, disguised as building supplies within a consolidated load of toys and furniture. The substance was concealed in buckets filled with putty.
The cargo was first stored in a warehouse hangar in Podolsk and later forwarded by a courier service to the northern part of the region.
Uncovering the scheme led officers to a 32-year-old Russian citizen with a prior conviction for drug trafficking. He was detained while accepting the delivery; a search of his car revealed a concealed compartment in the rear seat backrest holding six packets of hashish.
The suspect said he had ordered the hashish from Spain through the darknet and intended to distribute it via dead drops in Moscow and the surrounding region.
A criminal case was opened under Article 229.1(4) of the Russian Criminal Code for smuggling narcotic drugs in an especially large quantity; the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
The investigation was carried out jointly with the State Customs Committee of the Republic of Belarus.
