Employees of the Lviv Customs, in cooperation with the Department for Combating Smuggling and Customs Rules Violations of the State Customs Service and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the Lviv region, neutralized an international channel for the supply of narcotic substances from Europe to Ukraine.
As it turned out, the organizers of this ‘trade route’ were two residents of Prykarpattia, aged 23 and 28. Using a Mercedes Benz Sprinter minibus for passenger transportation, they attempted to transport 614.5 kg of narcotic substances with restricted circulation in Ukraine.
The goods, consisting of crushed leaves of the Kratom plant (Mitragyna Speciosa), were hidden by the dealers at the bottom of the Mercedes’s luggage compartment, under a ‘mountain’ of passengers’ suitcases and bags. In total, customs officers found and seized 27 cardboard boxes with the substance, packed in polyethylene vacuum bags.
According to preliminary data, the value of the goods on the ‘black market’ could exceed 4 million UAH. Both perpetrators were detained and charged under Articles 305 and 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.