A large-scale channel of drug smuggling from the EU has been dismantled.
The Department for Combating Smuggling and Customs Violations of the State Customs Service and employees of the Lviv Customs, together with the Internal Security Department of the National Police of Ukraine, conducted a successful operation to expose a criminal organization. Since April 2025, measures aimed at documenting illegal activities and identifying all members of the criminal organization who specialized in the smuggling of psychotropic substances from European Union countries to Ukraine and their subsequent distribution have been carried out on a regular basis.
The smuggling of psychotropics amounted to between 1,500 and 2,000 kg per month and brought members of the criminal organization up to $250,000 in illegal profits monthly. During a series of covert investigative actions, the individuals involved in the criminal proceedings who organized the smuggling channel of banned substances were identified.
During sanctioned searches, the following were found and seized: 425 kg of the powdered psychotropic substance ‘Kratom’; 37 electronic smoking devices containing ‘Kratom’; 120 containers with a gel-like substance containing ‘Kratom’; zip bags with a powdered crystalline white substance (Methamphetamine) and medical preparations, among others.
Six participants of the criminal organization were detained with simultaneous delivery of suspicions. The investigation is ongoing.