Фото: МВД РФ
A methadone production laboratory used by a transnational organised group has been dismantled near Moscow, the Russian Interior Ministry reported. The operation was carried out with the assistance of Belarus’ Main Directorate for Drug Control and Counter-Trafficking of the criminal police.
“It has been preliminarily established that the criminal business was led by a citizen of one of the neighbouring countries. He repeatedly travelled to Russia and manufactured the drug in rented houses,” the statement said.
In February, a similar laboratory was ликвидирована in the Chekhov District of the Moscow Region. At that time, a suspect and his accomplice, a Russian woman, were detained. More than 11 kilograms of methadone, along with precursors and specialised equipment, were seized. An additional 2 kilograms of methadone were found in another rented house in the Mozhaysk District.
The drugs were reportedly distributed both in Russia and Belarus.
“Cooperation and timely information exchange between colleagues from the Interior Ministries of Russia and Belarus made it possible to prevent more than 65,000 single doses of this dangerous drug from reaching the illicit market, the use of which is associated with high mortality,” the ministry added.