Serviceman who set up drug lab in Kharkiv region receives 9 years in prison – SBI
Based on materials from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), a National Guard serviceman who set up a laboratory for the production of a particularly dangerous psychotropic substance in Kharkiv region has been sentenced to 9 years in prison, the SBI reports.
A report on the agency’s website on Monday notes that SBI employees, in cooperation with the National Police Drug Crime Department and the SBU, exposed the crime at the stage of launching the laboratory, preventing the products from entering the "black market."
According to the investigation, the figure decided to organize the illegal production of a psychotropic substance and involved a civilian acquaintance.
"They purchased instructions and drawings on the Internet and watched educational videos, after which they ordered the necessary equipment and precursors," the report says.
According to the SBI, the figures set up the laboratory in a remote settlement more than 120 kilometers from Kharkiv, expecting to avoid detection.
After starting production, according to the report, the perpetrators produced a trial batch of the substance, which they planned to sell via the Internet.
Law enforcement officers exposed the laboratory at the initial stage of its operation: expertise established that almost 7 kilograms of the psychotropic substance had been produced by that time, the estimated value of which on the "black market" could exceed 2 million UAH.
During searches, special equipment, precursors, finished products, and almost half a kilogram of cannabis were seized.
By the decision of the Novovodolaha District Court of Kharkiv Region, the National Guard member was found guilty of illegal production and storage for the purpose of sale of particularly dangerous psychotropic substances in especially large amounts, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine); illegal acquisition and storage of precursors for the purpose of using them for the production of a psychotropic substance, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 2 of Article 311 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine); and illegal production and storage of equipment intended for the production of psychotropic substances or their analogues for the purpose of producing a particularly dangerous psychotropic substance, committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons (Part 3 of Article 313 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
He was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment.
The SBI specifies that the materials regarding the serviceman’s accomplice are being considered by the court separately.
Public prosecution was supported by prosecutors of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the military sphere of the Eastern Region.
