Ukrainian authorities have carried out a
vast anti-drug
operation across 19 oblasts of the country, shutting down five laboratories
that produced illegal drugs, Ukraine’s National Police reported on April 1.
According to deputy police chief Andrii Nebytov, the task force executed 64 search warrants and arrested 26 suspected drug dealers, as well as identifying 57 members of various criminal organizations.
"Our experts could track the groups' activity on Telegram, focusing on logistical hubs central to the [drug] trafficking operations," he said in a Facebook post.
More than 350 law enforcement officers were involved in the operation.
On Dec. 28, 2023, Ukraine’s SBU security service reported that since February 2022, it had dismantled over 60 criminal organizations smuggling drugs into the EU.