The SBU officers blocked the activities of a “branch” of Khimprom international drug syndicate in Kyiv region.

The law enforcement officers established that after the SBU had closed most of Khimprom entities and drug laboratories in 2019, the drug syndicate organizers, who stayed abroad, decided to work in Ukraine through “separate branches”. They act independently of each other, which makes it difficult to expose them.

On October 8, the law enforcement officers conducted nine searches in Kyiv and Kyiv region, as a a result of which they found the Khimprom laboratory for manufacturing of PVP psychotropic substance, warehouses for finished “goods”, and call centers that accepted and processed orders for the drug sale. According to preliminary estimates, the SBU seized more than 50 kilos of PVP, almost ten kilos of amphetamine, more than 500 liters of precursors and drug manufacturing equipment. The cost of the seized drugs on the “black market” is over UAH 30 million (USD 1 million).

In addition, the law enforcement officers found five firearms, more than 150 rounds for them, nine forged driver's licenses, as well as documentary evidence of the branch organizer’s participation in the so-called “MGB DNR”.

The law enforcement officers detained two members of the criminal group in accordance with the Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The investigation is ongoing against more than 100 call-center operators.

Within the initiated criminal proceedings, the SBU continues to document the fact of illegal production, making, purchasing, storage, transportation, sending for selling purposes, and also illegal sale of narcotics, psychotropic substances or their analogues by the transnational organized criminal group Khimprom.

The operation was conducted by the SBU Main Directorate for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime jointly with the Pechersk District Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv under the supervision of the Kyiv city Prosecutor’s Office No. 6.