Let down: a major drug dealer was detained in the capital
Metropolitan police officers detained a drug dealer who controlled the logistics of large shipments of cocaine and mephedrone. The man, who officially works as a courier, supplied the capital's beau monde with drugs, and also managed a warehouse of illegal substances worth tens of millions of rubles — a total of over 22 kg was seized from him. Details of the operation and the cuisine of cocaine traffic in megacities can be found in the Izvestia article.
Operation in the southwest of Moscow
The young man was detained in mid-June on Dnepropetrovsk Street, where a 24-year-old native of Khabarovsk with registration in Anapa rented an apartment. During a personal search, his mobile phone was seized — the analysis of correspondence and pointed out to the operatives the serious role of the young man in drug trafficking in the capital region. On the balcony, detectives found a bag of powder, a glass container and a compressed substance in a torn vacuum packaging weighing more than 300 g, which turned out to be cocaine.
But the bulk of the forbidden cargo was in a garage box not far from the rented apartment. 40 vacuum packages with powder, 25 bundles and one compressed briquette in a polymer package were seized there. All products were promptly sent for research, which confirmed that they contained cocaine and mephedrone, a law enforcement source told Izvestia.
Police officers found that the defendant used two cars equipped with special hiding places in the luggage compartment and under the license plate, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said.
What threatens the person involved
A criminal case has been opened against the young man under Part 3 of Article 30 and Part 5 of Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Attempted illegal sale of narcotic drugs on an especially large scale"). The court has already chosen a preventive measure for him in the form of detention. As part of the investigation, the owners of the apartment and garage where the prohibited substances were stored will also be checked for involvement in illegal business.
"The sanction of this article provides for punishment up to life imprisonment. But it should be borne in mind that the composition is not completed — the person is accused of attempted murder. In this case, the court cannot impose the maximum penalty. If involvement in large—scale wholesale is proven, the court may sentence the person involved from 15 to 20 years in prison with a fine of up to 1 million rubles — this is the judicial practice in cases of this kind," lawyer Ekaterina Krasnova commented on the situation to Izvestia.
"Collective farm" conspiracy
According to retired justice colonel and expert on international organized crime Sergey Pelikh, a separate type of performer has emerged in modern drug crime — the carrier of so‑called master treasures. He is not engaged in street retail, but works with large parties.
—Master hoards are large bookmarks, from which single doses are then packaged for retail sale," explains Pelich. — Some people are responsible for the transportation and laying of these large shipments, while others are already responsible for packing and arranging small ones for end users. The person involved in the investigation was the one who laid the master treasures.
To fulfill this role, the carrier's car is usually being modified: it is equipped with special caches designed for large volumes of drugs.
"Hiding in the bumper is not a new idea,— Pelich notes. — Such constructions have been used for a long time, and it is unlikely that a particular detainee came up with something original. But in this case, everything is done rather inconveniently: to get to the cache, you need to poke around with a screwdriver. More advanced craftsmen make hidden compartments that open literally in one movement — quickly pulled out, quickly laid, quickly left. Here, the solution is, as they say, "collective farm".
I was on my way to success
The composition of the seized drugs also says a lot about the status of the detainee. If experts call the presence of mephedrone a "common topic" for the current market, then cocaine is already changing the picture.
"Cocaine is a drug aimed at the so—called elite consumers," explains Pelich. — The fact that the detainee was entrusted with the transportation of cocaine indicates his position in the hierarchy. This is not a random person from the street, but a proven performer who has already earned a certain reputation.
According to expert assessment, in order to reach the level of a master treasure carrier, it is necessary to go through several steps inside the criminal structure. First, work in lower positions, where the future dealer proves his reliability by performing simpler tasks.
A separate element of this system is a cash deposit, which must be made by the contractor. This is a financial guarantee for the organizers: if the party is lost, the deposit will be deducted as compensation.
"The amount of the deposit depends on the type and quantity of the drug,— Pelich explains. — For mephedrone, the amount is usually relatively small, especially if we are not talking about large volumes. But for cocaine, the deposit is noticeably higher. Even for 1 kg, it can be $ 10-15 thousand. In case of loss of the goods, this money simply burns out.
Thus, the master treasure carrier is not an ordinary pawnbroker, but a participant in a mid‑level criminal structure with a certain experience, trusted volumes, his own financial responsibility and technically prepared transport. According to experts, it is such performers who ensure the stability and scale of the modern drug market.
Who is the powder for
The circle of cocaine users is quite narrow due to the high cost of the prohibited substance. And mephedrone is considered an analogue of cocaine "for the poor."
"Cocaine is considered a semi—synthetic drug made from natural raw materials, and "farm" products have always been more expensive on the black market," Pelich says ironically. — It is consumed by wealthy people, majors. In Moscow, it is mainly consumed by representatives of the artistic community, large businessmen, and their children. Not everyone can afford it. Mephedrone is much cheaper.
According to Pelikh, the prices of shipments with a large number of zeros published in reports and news do not reflect the real state of affairs in the drug economy.
The main method used in the calculation is to recalculate the weight of the seized substance by the number of retail doses, followed by multiplication by the final cost to the consumer, says Sergey Pelikh about police practice. However, this approach is applicable only to shipments seized from the retailer and cannot be used to evaluate bulk shipments.
As an example, the expert examines the pricing chain using the example of heroin and cocaine. The cost of raw materials at the production stage in the countries of origin, according to his data, is $ 0.5–0.7 per gram. After primary processing at "enrichment plants", the price of the finished product increases to $1.5–3 per gram, and this indicator, as Pelikh notes, has remained unchanged over the past 40 years.
"The main price increase occurs at the stage of international logistics," says Pelich. — When organizing wholesale deliveries, the cost of the product increases to $25-40 per gram, which provides a margin to cover transportation costs and compensate for the risks of detention. The most significant price increase occurs in the retail sector.
At the same time, the content of the pure substance is reduced from the initial 90% to 5%, which, according to the expert, is due to the technology of diluting the concentrate to reduce the volume of transportation.
Collective responsibility
Pelich makes a calculation: the seizure of 100 kg of cocaine, which in official reports can be estimated at billions of dollars, actually damages the cartel only in the amount of about $ 300 thousand plus transportation costs.
The expert also draws attention to the structure of the drug business, which he characterizes as a corporate model with elements of risk distribution. Deliveries are organized according to the principle of chains with the obligations of the participants. In case of seizure of goods by law enforcement officers, compensation is distributed among all parties of the logistics chain based on the calculation of the minimum price of the previous stage.
— According to statistics from the United Nations Office on Drugs and data from regional drug control services, on average about 10% of substances are withdrawn from circulation, — says Sergey Pelikh. — Thus, the loss from one delayed delivery is offset by the revenue from subsequent successful transactions.
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