"Earned" 9 million hryvnias monthly: drug dealers uncovered in Kryvyi Rih.

In Kryvyi Rih, 24 members of criminal organizations were detained, who earned up to 9 million hryvnias per month from the sale of methamphetamine. They have been charged and taken into custody.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing the press service of the National Police.

According to law enforcement, the leaders of these criminal organizations, aged 36 and 41, previously collaborated closely with the heads of the drug syndicate "Dvadtsatovskye" and, with their permission, distributed drugs in specific areas of Kryvyi Rih.

After the police **dismantled the "20s," the suspects decided to take their place and even adopted their drug distribution methods - cocktail straws**. They invested the money into legitimate businesses and converted it into cryptocurrency.

It is reported that the criminal organizations had a clear hierarchy: the leaders controlled all processes, packagers were responsible for preparing the product for sale, and the so-called "seniors" were in charge of supplying methamphetamine. They worked in shifts, at the end of which members reported their earnings and the remaining "product."

In total, they had six locations for packaging drugs - the participants' own homes and rented apartments, which they changed from time to time. Orders were accepted through chatbots in a messenger.

The dealers sold the "product" in cocktail straws hand-to-hand or by hiding it throughout Kryvyi Rih. The price for a "dose" of one gram was 2000 hryvnias, while 0.018 grams cost 300.

According to operatives, **the suspects sold up to 30,000 doses of methamphetamine monthly, generating up to 9 million hryvnias in "profit"**. Part of this money was invested in the drug business, while the rest was funneled into legitimate businesses and converted into cryptocurrency.

During 87 searches, police seized drugs and psychotropic substances worth nearly 2 million hryvnias, equipment for mixing and packaging the narcotic substance, cash in various currencies amounting to almost 850 thousand hryvnias, firearms, grenades, vehicles, etc. **The total value of the seized items is around 10 million hryvnias.**

All detainees have been informed of their charges. Depending on their roles and involvement, their actions are classified as follows:

• under part 1 and 2 of article 255 (creation and participation in a criminal organization);
• part 4 of article 28 part 3 of article 307 (illegal acquisition, storage, transportation for sale, and illegal sale of psychotropic substances) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Preventive measures in the form of detention have been chosen for the suspects. The issue of seizing the confiscated property is being resolved. **The defendants may face up to 12 years of imprisonment** with confiscation of property.

What is known about the "Dvadtsatovskye" drug syndicate

"Dvadtsatovskye" is a Kryvyi Rih drug trafficking syndicate that has been operating in the city since the 1990s. It is named after the eponymous district in Kryvyi Rih. The dealers started as a band of extortionists. Once they gained significant influence, they began "selling" their extortion license to other, less prominent gangs. Those gangs, in turn, paid a portion of their "tribute" from extortion to the "Dvadtsatovskye" for the license and enforcement assistance.

At the same time, the gang began producing and distributing drugs. Soon, the gang transformed into a full-fledged syndicate with its own hierarchy.

For more details, read the RBK-Ukraine article "Dvadtsatovskye". How Ukraine uncovered a large-scale drug syndicate from the 90s".