Caught on the grass: the treasurer of the heroin mafia is caught red-handed again

Atobek Gulmamadov, a native of Tajikistan, who served a long term of imprisonment in Russia for trafficking heroin, was again detained on charges of trafficking prohibited substances. According to investigators, he may be involved in the supply of several kilograms of marijuana. The details are in the Izvestia article.

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A source from Izvestia reported on the arrest of Atolbek Gulmamadov in early December on charges of involvement in the illegal trafficking of about 10 kg of marijuana. He fell into the hands of the police in Mytishchi near Moscow, and after his arrest he was sent to the Mozhaisk pre-trial detention center. The investigative authorities have not yet commented on the situation.

It is noteworthy that Gulmamadov managed to stay and legalize in Russia after serving his sentence for participating in a drug trafficking ring.

Almost a super agent

This man managed to obtain Russian citizenship twice with different surnames indicated in two national passports of Tajikistan. Gulmamadov received a second passport under an assumed name at the Russian Embassy in Dushanbe after he was put on the international wanted list. These facts were established by the investigation, but there were no corresponding actions to revoke citizenship and search for those responsible for the illegal legalization of the fugitive criminal.

The police managed to establish that the wanted man was using documents in the name of Timur Karachaev. Some time later, the drug police found out that Gulmamadov had entered the UAE using a fake Tajik passport in the name of Timur Boronbekov. In December 2012, Gulmamadov was detained in Abu Dhabi. After negotiations between Russian security officials and their counterparts from the Emirates, Gulmamadov was extradited to Russia at the very beginning of 2013 just a month after his detention in Dubai. The investigators of the Federal Drug Control Service (abolished in 2016) considered him to be a key participant in a drug cartel that supplied heroin to Russia from Afghanistan through Tajikistan on an industrial scale. At the time of his arrest, the mafia financier used money from drug trafficking to buy four apartments in St. Petersburg, two in Tajikistan and one in the UAE, as well as a fleet of executive class cars: Mercedes Benz E350, Lexus SC 430 and RX 400 H, Infiniti FX 50 and Nissan Teapa.

Photo: From the materials of the criminal case

Gulmamadov's testimony during the investigation formed the basis of the charges brought against the other members of the criminal community.

The main heroin exporters

The criminal community led by Jurabek Boymurodov supplied heroin on a wholesale scale to Russia and Afghanistan. So, in Kazan, operatives seized 174 kg of a drug belonging to bandits, in St. Petersburg 19 kg, and in the Moscow region more than 300 kg of a deadly potion. One of the main "distributors" of the transnational cartel and the treasurer, as it was established during the trial, was Atobek Gulmamadov. However, his duties were not limited to this.

According to the materials of the criminal case, Gulmamadov was involved in the first wave of activities of the syndicate headed by Boimurodov and "Tajik Pablo Escobar" Ibrahim Safarov, nicknamed Boyim (2001-2004). However, Gulmamadov's "career growth", as a result of which he assumed important leadership functions in the criminal community, occurred on the second, larger scale stage (2007-2013).

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Initially, in 2007-2008, he was charged with recruiting couriers and providing the so—called "last mile logistics" - receiving, packing and preparing for the sale of large quantities of drugs in St. Petersburg. He personally organized safe houses, which indicates a high level of trust from the leadership of the drug cartel.

Photo: From the materials of the criminal case

After the detention and arrest of many members of the group associated with Gulmamadov, his role changed. He was assigned managerial and advisory tasks: at the end of 2008, Gulmamadov was sent to oversee a structural unit (Firdavsa), where he passed on to its participants specific knowledge on "improving" the product — methods of mixing pure heroin with narcotic inactive components to increase mass and, consequently, profit. This indicates the recognition of his expert status in the criminal environment. And in 2010, he received a more responsible mission — control over the inter-regional transportation of a large shipment of drugs from St. Petersburg to the Leningrad region.

The court's decision

Gulmamadov was sentenced in 2014 to a relatively lenient sentence of 5 years in prison, as he actively cooperated with the investigation, said Sergei Pelikh, a former officer of the Investigative Department of the Interior Ministry and an expert on international drug trafficking.

Photo: From the materials of the criminal case

— When we demanded Gulmamadov's extradition, we did it solely on "narcotic" charges — this was required by the procedure. Later, a pre-trial agreement was concluded with him, which stipulated that if he returned to criminal activity after serving his sentence, he would be charged with articles related to the legalization of proceeds from crime, the organization of a criminal community and drug smuggling. In other words, they will remember past sins. It's all dragging on for life. If the guilt of the new crimes is proven, the investigation is obliged to add these grave charges to the charges. He violated his obligations to justice and must be punished," Pelich says.