Drug-control officers of the St Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast police stopped a rented Lada Largus at the 681st kilometre of the M-11 Neva motorway and detained its 36-year-old driver, a resident of Leningrad Oblast, on suspicion of drug distribution.[1] The stop took place in the Pushkinsky district of St Petersburg, where Pushkin traffic police assisted the anti-drug directorate.[2]

In the boot officers found a hydraulic accumulator cylinder, and inside it a cache of 12 polymer packages.[1] The driver said he installed water-supply systems at country houses and knew nothing of the cylinder’s contents.[2] The packages weighed about 6.5 kilograms in total, and examination found the wraps contained hashish.[2] The police statement said a total of more than 6 kg was seized and that one package held almost 1 kg of hashish, with the remaining wraps still to be examined.[1] Officers detained the man for two days under Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code.[2]

The next day the driver was charged as accused Vladimir Kudryashov, and the Pushkinsky District Court remanded him in custody until 23 August.[3] He opposed the arrest and asked for house arrest or a ban on certain actions instead.[3] Police opened a criminal case for attempted large-scale drug sale under Article 30(3) and Article 228.1(4)(g) of the Criminal Code and were working to establish the source of the drug and its distribution channels.[1] Igorglavk said investigators were establishing where the drug was bought and how it was to be sold on.[2]