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- He crashed into the sale: the main drug mafia of the Middle Volga region was convicted
He crashed into the sale: the main drug mafia of the Middle Volga region was convicted
The long-term history of the international search for one of Russia's most dangerous drug criminals has come to an end: Igor Vygovsky received 16 years in a high-security penal colony (with one year's restriction of freedom) for creating and leading a drug cartel. The fact that the perpetrator had been hiding in Thailand for a long time was particularly difficult for the investigation. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Details of the investigation
As the court found, from December 2021 to May 2022, Vygovsky created and headed a structured criminal community with a clear division of the roles of performers.
"For the illegal sale of narcotic drugs via the Internet in the Ulyanovsk and Samara regions, he supervised structural divisions, as well as drug couriers. To this end, he created an online store, which operates, among other things, in the Telegram messenger, where a special account (bot) performed certain functions automatically," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.
This approach to sales allowed addicted consumers to order banned substances. In addition, the approach provided a high degree of anonymity to the accomplices.
The group's plans were confused by a large-scale operation in 2022. The security forces attacked the network. More than a kilogram of various narcotic drugs were seized, which indicates a particularly large amount of sales.
Vygovsky actively used his criminal connections in Ukraine, where he is from. His accomplices provided him with an uninterrupted supply of Ukrainian SIM cards. According to the investigators, he was integrated into the Ukrainian criminal community.
Eight active members of the group were detained, convicted and given real terms of imprisonment from six to eight years in high-security colonies. Six of the convicts worked in "drug stores" as simple couriers: they received prohibited substances from curators, packed them, and then made bookmarks and reported on hiding places. The remaining two provided leadership and also negotiated with other drug business organizers, including in other regions. It is known that two defendants made a deal with the investigation and exposed their supervisors. In particular, their testimony formed the basis of Vygovsky's accusation.
However, the leader himself then managed to escape. He was put on the wanted list in absentia, and in April 2025, he was put on the international wanted list. Information about his presence in Thailand was received in July 2025. After confirming his identity, the Thai authorities detained him and carried out the deportation procedure as soon as possible, handing him over to Russian law enforcement officers.
The intricacies of extradition
First, investigators and detectives identify the alleged criminal, take measures to search for him, and international crime expert, retired justice Colonel Sergei Pelikh, talks about the extradition procedure for the accused.
Igor Vygovsky
— After receiving a request to cross the border, you can begin the procedure of declaring an international wanted list. But first, charges are brought in absentia based on the evidence gathered. The material for the trial is being collected and the investigator's petition for the arrest in absentia is sent. The defense side also participates in the proceedings, if the defendant has his own lawyer, if not, he is provided free of charge. Then a decision is made to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention in absentia. A package of documents (charges, evidence, etc.) is being collected again for sending to Interpol. The organization's commission reviews the materials and enters the data into a specialized international database. If we are talking about serious crimes, the wanted person gets into the red notice database.
— As for Thailand, we have signed a bilateral agreement on legal cooperation with the Kingdom. We work with them directly very successfully, but we are still required to submit information about the search for a person abroad to Interpol.
He clarified that all extradition requests are sent through the Prosecutor General's Office.
— After the criminal is "caught", the authorities consider whether the act falls under the national criminal law. If everything is in order and there is confirmation from our side that they are ready to take the person home, then local security forces bring the wanted person to the airport and hand them over to their Russian colleagues. As a rule, either Interpol officers or employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia are involved in escorting.
Who is Igor Vygovsky?
Igor Vygovsky was involved in a high-profile criminal case back in 2018, when another large drug group linked to a criminal boss named Sour was defeated in the Ulyanovsk region. Then Vygovsky was involved in the case as a witness.
Later, according to investigators, he used the accumulated connections and experience to create his own, more technologically advanced criminal empire. His cartel was characterized by a rigid hierarchy and strict secrecy, which for a long time did not allow to find its organizer.
Justice is at hand
Vygovsky was charged with two particularly serious articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: organization of a criminal community (Part 1 of Article 210 of the Criminal Code) and attempted illegal sale of narcotic drugs on an especially large scale (part 3 of Article 30, Part 5 of Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code). The maximum penalty he faced was life imprisonment.
Sentencing of Igor Vygovsky in Ulyanovsk on November 19
Initially, the prosecution insisted on a punishment of 22 years in a high-security penal colony. It is possible that an appeal may be filed against the court's decision.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
