VIDEO: Two Turkish Citizens Arrested, $45 Million Worth of Heroin Discovered - SRS

In early July 2021, the State Revenue Committee’s Department for Combating Smuggling received operational information regarding an international organized crime group involved in the illicit transport of heroin from Iran to European Union countries through the territory of Armenia, Georgia, and Ukraine.

The State Revenue Committee decided to implement a groundbreaking and unprecedented operation in the region, known as controlled delivery, to address this issue. In accordance with Article 256 of the Law on Customs Regulation of the Republic of Armenia, the prosecution was promptly notified of this decision.

Agreements were reached with law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and Georgia to conduct round-the-clock joint operational and investigative measures. Employees of Armenia's National Security Service were also involved in the operational activities. During the comprehensive operational and technical measures conducted by them, the truck transporting the narcotics was kept under police surveillance throughout its transit through Armenia.

Staff from the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and the regional office of the US Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Administration located in Tbilisi also participated in the event. Over the course of nearly 20 days of operational and investigative actions, a representative from the State Revenue Committee’s Department for Combating Smuggling was dispatched to Georgia and later to Ukraine.

On July 4, a truck carrying 20 tons of explosive bricks arrived from the Islamic Republic of Iran to Armenia, which, according to the operational information received, was supposed to be transporting heroin. Under the operational escort of law enforcement agencies from Armenia and Georgia, the truck proceeded to the port of Poti, from where it was to be shipped to Ukraine’s Chernomorsk port. Upon arrival, the vehicle then headed to Kyiv, Ukraine.

In Kyiv, a warehouse was rented by two Turkish citizens, who are members of the international organized crime group. The drugs were transferred, unloaded, and stored in this warehouse after customs clearance.

On July 22, law enforcement agencies in Ukraine, with the participation of representatives from the State Revenue Committee’s Department for Combating Smuggling and the Georgian police, entered the warehouse in Kyiv, where they discovered 1,164 packages of heroin weighing a total of 368 kg that had been transported from Iran to Ukraine. On the same day, the Turkish citizens were arrested in Kyiv.

The seized narcotics were intended to be delivered in small batches to EU countries. The two Turkish citizens were arrested under relevant articles of Ukraine's Criminal Code. A few days later, another Turkish citizen born in 1948 was also arrested in Kyiv in connection with this criminal case. Currently, an investigation is underway.

The value of the seized narcotics reaches approximately $45 million in the black market.

Controlled delivery is an operation provided for in Article 11 of the United Nations Convention against the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which is carried out with the agreement of the law enforcement agencies of all countries through which the drugs are intended to be transported. The main objective of this operation is to identify and bring to justice a wide range of individuals involved in the international illicit drug trade.