In Vitebsk, the investigation into a criminal case of drug distribution through an online store has been completed

During the preliminary investigation, it was established that a 22-year-old resident of the regional center entered into a criminal conspiracy with two residents of Vitebsk born in 1992. Implementing their criminal intent, the offenders used a scheme of selling narcotic drugs by means of stashes, while clearly distributing the roles of each member of the criminal group: one was engaged in the production of the goods, the second contacted clients regarding payment and receipt of drugs, the third directly made the stashes. The accused individuals paid special attention to advertising the drug store on the internet, developing special wrappers for their goods from silver adhesive tape, thereby trying to achieve recognition among buyers.

Communication between members of the criminal group and clients was carried out via text messages sent through special internet applications. Payment for the goods was made by transferring funds to electronic wallets. During the period of the online store's operation, the criminal income amounted to over 30 million Belarusian rubles. This is the money that was transferred to electronic wallets registered solely within the territory of the Republic of Belarus. At the same time, the investigation has grounds to believe that the majority of the electronic wallets used by the accused were registered in the Russian Federation, and the criminal income significantly exceeds the indicated amount. In order to establish the amount of funds transferred by drug buyers to electronic wallets registered outside the territory of the Republic of Belarus, international requests for legal assistance have been sent to the Russian Federation.

Special attention was paid to studying the personal background of the accused during the investigation. All three had no prior convictions, were not officially employed anywhere, were not married, and had secondary or secondary vocational education.

The disruption of the criminal group's online activities was the result of long-term work by employees of the Investigative Committee and the drug control units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, including the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

A tremendous amount of work has been done on the criminal case. The disclosure and investigation of the crime is the result of the comprehensive interaction of employees from the entire law enforcement bloc. Already within the framework of the criminal case investigation, specialists from the Vitebsk Regional Department of the State Committee of Forensic Examinations of the Republic of Belarus have conducted over 100 chemical examinations. On the day of the accused's detention alone, approximately 40 locations where the perpetrators had stashed drugs were identified. Coordinated work was noted not only at the interdepartmental but also at the interregional level, as the criminal group's activities were not limited to the city of Vitebsk, and the online store also operated in other Belarusian cities: Polotsk, Mogilev, and Brest.

The investigation has currently been completed. The criminal case has been reviewed by the prosecutor and forwarded to court for consideration. The final charges against all members of the criminal group have been brought under Part 3 of Article 328 (illegal acquisition, storage, and illegal sale of psychotropic substances for the purpose of sale, committed by a group of persons, in relation to particularly dangerous psychotropic substances) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus.

Official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Vitebsk Region

Inna Gorbacheva