Law enforcement agencies in Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, with the involvement of Europol and Eurojust, exposed and dismantled a transnational criminal group that had organized a supply route for psychotropic substances to European countries and Ukraine.
This was reported by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, and announced by the National Police.
According to the investigation, the case involves the illegal sale of at least 50 kg of methamphetamine and 2 kg of cocaine. Profits from methamphetamine sales alone reached nearly €950,000. The National Police said documentation of the traffickers’ criminal activity began back in April 2025. Investigators established that the organization had a clear structure and was divided into several separate groups, each operating under the direction of its own leader.
Drugs were smuggled into Ukraine through Transcarpathian Region. Cars and scheduled buses were used for transportation, and the psychotropic substances were disguised differently each time: hidden on couriers’ bodies, in children’s toys, household items and other objects. They were then distributed through a network of dealers.
The first group included a 47-year-old organiser from Uzhhorod and two couriers aged 27 and 44. They transported the ‘goods’ on scheduled buses, hiding kilograms of drugs in children’s toys and in suitcases with personal belongings.
The second group was led by a 53-year-old man from Mukachevo who, according to operational information, previously held the status of a so-called “criminal authority” nicknamed “Moskal.” Kravchenko said that investigators suspect the organiser of the Ukrainian branch was a resident of Mukachevo who for a long time worked as an aide to a member of Ukraine’s parliament of the 8th convocation. Working with him were a man and a woman from the Mukachevo area who transported the drug shipments across state borders in their own car, carefully disguising them as household chemicals. Law enforcement is checking information about the possible use of drones to move narcotics across the state border.
The key figures in this drug network were six Ukrainian citizens who coordinated the criminal activity from abroad.
Among those detained are “individuals with extensive criminal histories.” Active participants also included the former bodyguard of that member of parliament and a deputy of one of the local communities in Uzhhorod district who also worked as a teacher. According to police, a blogger is among those detained.
During the first stage of the operation, law enforcement fully established the group’s structure, documented the smuggling routes, and carried out an international controlled delivery of methamphetamine from Prague through Slovakia to Uzhhorod. Only then did they seize nearly 4 kg of methamphetamine worth more than 8 million hryvnyas.
The second stage took place simultaneously in Ukraine, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
As a result of the joint international special operation, law enforcement exposed and detained 20 members of the transnational group: 8 in Ukraine, 4 in the Czech Republic and another 8 in Slovakia. At the same time, 113 court-authorised searches were carried out across the three countries at the residences of suspects and individuals who may be involved in their activities. During investigative actions, more than 5.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and nearly 300 grams of cocaine were seized, which members of the network were preparing for further sale. At “black market” prices, the value of the seized drugs is nearly 13 million hryvnyas. Weapons, ammunition, drones, equipment for a bot farm, about 30 kg of gold and silver items, cash, vehicles and other physical evidence were also seized.
All suspects are being held in custody.
Those detained have now been served with notices of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 305 and Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The case concerns the smuggling of narcotics in especially large quantities committed by an organized group, as well as their illegal storage and sale on the territory of Ukraine.