In Dnipropetrovsk region, the SBU stopped activity of an organized criminal group dealing with production, smuggling and sale of drugs.

The multi-stage special operation established that the criminals were members of the criminal group, aka Dvadtsiativsky. The offenders organized a meth lab in the city of Kryvyi Rih. For that purpose, leaders of the group set up a channel for smuggling pseudoephedrine precursors from a neighboring state.

The criminals smuggled precursors hidden in food products. Then, part of the produced methamphetamine was sold in Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad and other regions, as well as smuggled to the EU for further sale. Allegedly, the drug lab worked for at least a year, and monthly produced more than 10 kilos of methamphetamine at a black market price of over UAH 8 m (USD 284,000).

Upon investigation, SBU officers exposed channels of smuggling of drugs and precursors through the territory of Ukraine, documented facts of drugs sale by the group members.

Late January 2021, at the final stage of the special operation in Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions, law enforcement officers conducted 20 searches of residences of active members of the group, as well as drug production and storage facilities. As a result, almost 3 kg of psychotropic substances and 4.4 kg of pseudoephedrine were seized. In addition to that, two short-barreled firearms, lab equipment and tools used in the production of methamphetamine, UAH 200,000 (USD 7,000) and more than USD 9,000 in cash, two wiretapping devices, black ledgers, mobile phones, bank cards, packaged drugs and other evidence of criminal activity were discovered.

Currently, four individuals received suspicion notices for selling drugs and precursors. Legal actions against other members of the group will be taken after forensic examination of the seized inventory. The offenders were detained under Art. 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

The operation was conducted by the SBU Main Directorate for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime jointly with the Investigative Department of the SBU Office in Lviv region under the supervision of the Lviv Region Prosecutor's Office.