MOSCOW. Feb 15 (Interfax) - A native of a country of the Commonwealth of Independent States was detained by Russian Interior Ministry officers in the Moscow region on suspicion of drug trafficking, and over 50 kilograms of heroin were seized from him, Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk said.
"Officers of the Russian Interior Ministry's Main Narcotic Drugs Control Department together with colleagues from the Russian Interior Ministry's branch for the Moscow region and the Interior Ministry's Shchyolkovskoye department detained a man suspected of narcotics trafficking," Volk told reporters on Wednesday.
Police established that a native of a CIS country had been storing large hauls of drugs at his temporary place of residence in the Losino-Petrovsky urban district in the Moscow region. The drugs were supposed to be subsequently distributed via secret caches in the Moscow region.
"As a result of the search operations, police officers found more than 51 kilograms of heroin and five kilograms of hashish in the suspect's rented apartment. The seized haul is equivalent to some 80,000 single doses and its cost may reach about 150 million rubles at black market prices," Volk said.
A criminal case has been opened on charges of an attempt to commit a crime and illegal production, distribution and shipping of narcotic substances.
The suspect has been remanded in custody.