ODESA - Officials from the department for the prevention of illegal turnover of narcotics of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's Main Department in Odesa region have closed an international channel supplying drugs to Odesa from Asia.
Law enforcement officials detained a 31-year-old foreign citizen when he tried to sell drugs, the public relations department of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry’s Main Department in Odesa region has reported. Four kilos of raw opium was seized from the man.
The police started following the man back in mid-May, when he arrived in Odesa and started looking for people to sell drugs to.
"The man bought the drugs in his home country for $30,000 and brought them to Odesa by plane. The drug dealer later packaged the drugs in eight metal boxes (500 grams in each box)," the source said.
The man told the investigators he intended to sell part of the drugs in Odesa for $15,000 a kilo and planned to sell the remaining drugs in one North American country," the police said.
According to the police estimation, the seized drugs could cost over Hr 8 million (over $1 million) on the black market.
An investigation is underway. A criminal case has been opened on the basis of Article 307 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code (illegal production, storage, transportation, and sale of drugs).
A source in the law enforcement agencies told Interfax-Ukraine that the man is an Iranian-born citizen of Canada.
