The Kyiv police have uncovered a vast drug trafficking operation disguised as weight loss medications – seizing products worth over 52 million UAH. The criminals established a scheme to import psychotropic substances from Asia without customs control. Thirteen individuals were involved, repackaging and selling these drugs through online stores in Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, and Odesa regions.
Officers from the Narcotics Crime Unit, together with investigators from the Holosiivskyi Police Department, dismantled this network. The investigation revealed that the criminal group consisted of 13 members, each playing a specific role, from smuggling to distribution.
The illegal enterprise was organized by residents of Kyiv region, who imported psychotropics disguised as weight loss capsules from Eastern Asia. The traffickers stored the drugs in two rented warehouses and facilitated wholesale deliveries to other group members across the country, who then sold them through an online store.
These products were marketed as "miracle remedies" with natural ingredients for easy weight loss without effort.
During authorized searches, law enforcement seized nearly half a million pills containing the psychotropic substance sibutramine and counterfeit drugs, valued at over 52.2 million UAH.
Two suspects have already been charged under part 2 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – illegal acquisition, storage, and distribution of especially dangerous psychotropic substances in large quantities. After the completion of all expert evaluations, additional charges against other members of the criminal scheme will be considered.