MOSCOW. Dec 6 (Interfax) - Two foreigners have been detained in the Moscow region on suspicion of plotting to smuggle 570 kilograms of cocaine worth 1.5 billion rubles into European Union countries, the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Federal Customs Service of Russia said.
"Members of the Colombian cartel Cali were detained red-handed by the Federal Security Service and the Federal Customs Service while trying to smuggle a particularly large batch of Latin American narcotic drugs into EU states via Russian territory," the FSB press center said in a statement on Friday.
A total of 570 kilograms of cocaine were seized from them, the Federal Customs Service said. "The haul costs 1.5 billion rubles in the Russian black market in wholesale prices and over 5.5 billion rubles in retail prices," it said.
Russian special services identified two foreign citizens, "who arrived in Moscow allegedly to dismantle non-functioning transport equipment, but were known to special services as members of a transboundary cartel."
"They removed cocaine bricks from a piece of equipment on the premises of a warehouse in the Moscow region and transferred them to another cache inside a freight container due to be sent to the EU with a legal cargo," the FSB said.
The operation to shut down this cocaine trafficking channel began several years ago when special services were tipped off about the South American gang's plans to change its traditional direct routes to smuggle cocaine into Europe by starting to use Russian transport infrastructure, the Federal Customs Service said.
"Non-stop monitoring over foreign economic ties with Latin American countries was introduced for the purpose of identifying illegal cargoes. A great deal of work was done to uncover the drug syndicate's connections in Russia among both foreigners and Russian citizens," it said.
The FSB investigative department opened a criminal case against the foreigners, who were remanded in custody as a restraining measure.
"This is already the fifth batch of Latin American cocaine intended for delivery to EU states seized by security services in Russian territory this year," the FSB press center said.