MOSCOW. Sept 24 (Interfax) - The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has reported the shutdown of a major synthetic drug pipeline, and persons suspected of selling the drugs on the DarkNet are now in custody.
"The operative and investigative measures taken in the Moscow, Rostov, and Astrakhan regions and the Krasnodar Territory have resulted in the detention of five members of an interregional criminal network, including the person who organized the production and distribution of narcotic drugs and coordinated the illegal activity from Turkey," the FSB public relations center told Interfax on Friday.
An illegal lab manufacturing over 500 kilograms of narcotics per month was earlier shut down in the Ruza district of the Moscow region, the FSB said. Operatives seized over 60 kilograms of mephedrone, 6,000 liters of drug-containing liquid, 1,500 kilograms of precursors, 22,000 kilograms of chemical reagents, and laboratory equipment.
Investigative bodies have opened criminal cases, and the detainees have been charged and taken into custody. Operative and investigative procedures are continuing, the FSB said.