Heavy traffic: drug dealers increased cocaine imports to Russia
Drug dealers have changed the way cocaine is transported to Russia and increased its supply, Izvestia found out after analyzing the statistics of law enforcement agencies, the Federal Customs Service and data from the darknet. Over the past two years, law enforcement officers have seized about 5.2 tons of the substance, although until 2023 the total volume of confiscated shipments amounted to several hundred kilograms. Experts attribute the increase in volumes to changes in supply routes: after the start of the SWO, the port in Odessa was closed, so some large shipments to other markets now go through Russia. Containers with fruit became the most popular method of disguise, and the drug began to be transported not only by sea, but also by land transport. The details are in the Izvestia investigation.
How much cocaine is seized
Over the last two years, the amount of cocaine seized in Russia has increased rapidly - about 5.2 tons of the drug with a total value of more than 350 billion rubles have been confiscated. Izvestia made such a conclusion after studying the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and the Federal Customs Service (FCS).
The press service of the FCS told Izvestia that in 2022, the amount of drugs attempted to be imported into the country amounted to 88.28 kilograms, in 2023 - 409.96 kilograms, and in 2024 reached 2.8 tons.
However, arrests of drug traffickers with consignments were also carried out by the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service (FSB) after crossing the border. Taking into account the information on such arrests and seizures of cocaine, in 2022 more than 300 kg were seized, in 2023 - 1.5 tons, in 2024 - already 3.7 tons.
A series of detentions of drug dealers with large quantities began in the spring of 2023. March 31, official representative of the Russian Interior Ministry Irina Volk reported that police in St. Petersburg managed to detain two members of a group supplying cocaine to Russia from Latin America. They were found in possession of 200 kilograms of the drug, which they were transporting in a truck together with fruit.
The following month, the FSB seized a 699 kg batch from three members of the international cartel in the Moscow region.
"Attempts to realize in Moscow a wholesale batch of Latin American cocaine have been recorded. Three foreigners - citizens of Colombia and one of the EU states - have been identified," the agency said.
Another 673 kg of Latin American cocaine was confiscated by the FSB in December 2023 in Moscow. The couriers used transport rented on a front person, as well as fake passport and driver's license.
In January 2024, in the Big Port of St. Petersburg, FCS officers found more than a ton of cocaine in the upper part of a cargo module. The drug had been brought to Russia from Nicaragua. A week later, another large shipment was seized there: over 1.2 tons of cocaine, which had arrived from Belgium.
In the fall, two citizens of a Balkan country were caught red-handed transporting more than a ton of cocaine in the Leningrad region. It is noteworthy that for transportation partially used ground transportation.
"Identified the next truck to our country, in which a high-tech cache was found", - stated in the release of the press service of the Department.
In December, the FCS seized 570 kilograms of cocaine and detained members of the Colombian cartel "Cali".
How cocaine is disguised
The most popular way to transport cocaine to Russia is through fruits and vegetables, in particular bananas.
For example, in the Kaliningrad region, police seized about 100 kilograms of cocaine found in a cargo of fruit from Colombia. The Ecuadorian police also foiled an attempt to import a shipment weighing 3.2 tons into Russia.
- Bananas are checked less often," former criminal investigation officer Yevgeny Chernousov explained to Izvestia. - They are loaded green into hermetically sealed containers with a certain temperature. If the packaging is opened, there is a high risk that the bananas will ripen and arrive at the final destination spoiled. The sender will have to pay compensation for this. The same applies to other perishable fruits or berries grown in cocaine's homeland of the Caribbean.
According to him, the drug has been transported in containers with bananas since the 1990s. However, over time, this method became a "cliché," so drug dealers tried to reduce the number of such shipments. At the same time, they were looking for new ways to disguise their goods. Cocaine was often imported under the guise of coffee, cocoa beans, fish and even in porcelain vases.
The expert also noted that the volume of shipments to Russia that are disguised "as bananas" and other fruits has indeed increased. He added that suppliers have started to use land transportation more often, not just sea transportation.
Why shipments are growing
Coca plantations, the main ingredient in cocaine, grew 13% to a record 2,300 square kilometers in 2022, and potential cocaine production rose 24% to 1,738 metric tons per year,according to the UN drug office . Dealers are looking for new sales opportunities and expanding their sales geography.
Thereis indeed a record amount of cocaine in Russia now, confirmed Izvestia's source connected with the drug trade on the darknet.
- It is sold not only on the darknet, but also by hand," he said. - New drugs are actively spreading around the world to compete with it, and the demand for cocaine is falling. But old stocks need to be sold.
"Izvestia" analyzed data from the four largest drug sites and calculated in what volumes cocaine settles in Russia.
Now the drug is sold by about 300 stores. Most of the offers are in regions with seaports and cities with high incomes. Namely: in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Moscow region, Rostov and Murmansk regions, Krasnodar Krai.
At the time of publication of the material, about 1,150 ads for cocaine were placed on the darknet. This is almost twice the average amount that was sold on the darknet two years ago. Before that, the drug was mainly traded on the monopoly site Hydra. After law enforcers closed this site in 2022, there was an active redistribution of the drug market for about a year.
Also now, offers to sell large bulk quantities are increasingly common on the sites.
Another reason for the increase in the amount of cocaine in the country may be related to a change in the supply route from the Caribbean and West Africa to Europe. Before the SWO, one important transshipment point was the port in Odessa, but it is now blocked, according to a report by the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. An alternative could be the development of the Balkan route, the authors of the document believe.
Russia is considered by criminals as one of the transit countries. This version is supported by the fact that, according to the FSB, the Interior Ministry and the Federal Customs Service, the dealers planned to deliver most of the cocaine seized in 2023 and 2024 for sale in the EU countries.
- Russia is a geographically convenient place for drug smuggling. The increase in cocaine shipments is due to South American and European groups wanting to change traditional supply routes to Europe. Most attempts to export large consignments are made through seaports in the Northwest region of Russia. At the same time, the channel of international container transportation is used," the press service of the Federal Customs Service told Izvestia.
Members of Albanian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, Dutch and Polish drug groups are responsible for drug sales to European consumers, the agency added.
The number of cocaine users has not increased
The number of users in Russia has not increased, according to drug addicts. This is due to the high price of the drug. Now the average cost per gram is Br10-14 thousand. Two years ago it cost Br8-10 thousand. Because of this, cocaine is being actively replaced by cheaper mephedrone in Russia.
In 2023, one of the Telegram channels specializing in statistics conducted a survey among drug addicts. 1,283 people answered his question, and there were five times more people taking mephedrone than cocaine users.
Mephedrone is a stronger and cheaper stimulant, explained narcologist Igor Lazarev. It causes rapid addiction and irreversible changes in the central nervous system, including the development of schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
- The average addict in Russia cannot afford to buy dozens of grams of cocaine on a regular basis, so he chooses cheaper drugs, " he said. - The main consumers of the expensive drug remain the oligarchs and golden youth. It is they who are willing to overpay for logistics and actively fall for the marketing ploy that cocaine is a "drug for the elite," although in Colombia 1 g can cost about $5. At the same time, users receive only irreversible damage to the cardiovascular system and psyche, just like from any other drug.
The number of cocaine users is really not increasing, agrees and narcologist Alexei Kazantsev. But, according to him, drug overdoses occur regularly. This is confirmed by Rosstat statistics. According to the latest published data for 2021, the number of Russian residents who died from drugs exceeded 10 thousand people.
-The situation is complicated by the fact that dealers dilute cocaine with dangerous additives to reduce the cost of production, " he said. - With the increased supply, it's even easier to do so. In addition, cocaine use is accompanied by alcohol, which is extremely dangerous. If used at the same time, it produces a substance called cocaethylene, which is much more harmful than most drugs, accumulates in the body and can be fatal.
But the number of cocaine dealers is growing. After 2022, they are increasingly being prosecuted for illegal possession, transportation and sale of narcotic substances, lawyers say.
- Cases involving cocaine sales and possession are more common than usual in my practice. Recently I have observed more than ten such stories," said Mikhail Tatarenok, lawyer of Tatarenok and Partners.
According to him, cocaine belongs to the category of heavy drugs and this circumstance significantly affects the decision of the court - the strictest measures are applied to criminals, which affects the length of the sentence.
For the production, sale or transfer of cocaine in a significant amount a person is punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to 15 years; in a large amount - for a term of 10 to 20 years; in a particularly large amount - by imprisonment for a term of 15 to 20 years or life imprisonment.
This material is of an anti-drug nature. Drug use is extremely dangerous for health! They cause severe dependence, destroy physical and mental state, and can lead to irreversible consequences, including death.