Prosecutors under the Podilskyi district prosecutor’s office in Kyiv notified two 25-year-old Kyiv men of suspicion of illegal acquisition and storage of drugs for sale on an especially large scale under Part 3 of Article 307.[1] Both suspects are in custody.[1][2][3] Investigators say the men packed the drug together for later sale to customers across Ukraine.[1]

Officers found nine packages holding about 4 kg of cannabis on one suspect during a personal search.[1][4] Officers then identified his accomplice and a flat in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district where they stored cannabis.[1] They seized nine more vacuum packages weighing over 3.6 kg there.[1][4] Prosecutors put the total haul at over 7 kg with an estimated value of about 3 million hryvnias.[5][2] If proved, the charge carries up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.[1][4][2][3]

The pretrial investigation is being run by investigators of the Podilskyi police department in Kyiv with SBU operational support.[1][4][3] Police say the men sold cannabis to buyers in different Ukrainian regions using postal services and disguising parcels as household goods.[6][4] One suspect was detained on a street in Kyiv’s Pecherskyi district, where officers found cannabis inside cereal and dog-treat boxes.[6][4][2][3]