TOMSK. July 26 (Interfax) - The drug police have detained members of an inter-ethnic criminal group that smuggled heroin to Tomsk and seized 2 kilograms of the drug, the regional drug control service reported on Friday.
The organizer is a Gypsy, the packer is a Tatar and the seller is a Russian, the drug control service said.
"The leader would organize shipments of the drug from a neighboring region, the shipment would be packed into doses by a female member who would then hand the drugs over to a retail seller at her home and at a maternity hospital in Tomsk where she worked as an aide," it said in a press release.
The suspects were detained simultaneously in different parts of the city. The seller and the packer were caught in the act of handing over a package of drugs to a buyer outside the maternity hospital.
About 2 kilograms of heroin were seized, which was one of the largest amounts to be confiscated this year.
The suspects will be tried on charges of large-scale, organized sale of illegal drugs, punishable by prison confinement of up to 20 years.