MOSCOW. July 26 (Interfax) - Russian special services have conducted an operation in Shatura in the Moscow region to eliminate a clandestine drug lab manufacturing synthetic narcotic drugs in especially large quantities and controlled from Ukraine, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said.
"Russian FSB officials received information indicating that the contactless sale of large batches of synthetic narcotic drugs via the Internet was organized in the Moscow region in the interests of an online shop administered by Ukrainian citizens," it said.
Investigative "measures helped identify active members of the organized criminal group coming from Ukraine, and the systemic nature of their unlawful activities was confirmed," it said.
"The detention of the criminal group's members red-handed put an end to the clandestine lab's operations," it said.
While searching the lab, FSB operatives discovered at least 57 kilos of a derivative of the narcotic substance metamfepramone (a-PVP), four tonnes of a drug-containing liquid, lab equipment, and various chemicals for synthesizing banned substances, it said.
The FSB investigative directorate has opened and is investigating a criminal case into the manufacturing of narcotic drugs on an especially large amounts. A court ordered that the suspects be taken into custody pending trial, it said.
"The Russian FSB is now taking measures to uncover counts and individuals involved in said unlawful activities and check whether the detainees might have been involved in the functioning of other clandestine drug labs," it said.