Penza, 27 January 2015. PenzaNews. Around 90 kg of illegal drugs and mind-altering substances were seized from illegal trafficking by the officers of the Federal Drug Control Service of Russia in the Penza region in 2014.

According to the department, the bulk of the substances were the so-called “designer drugs” which were seized in many locations, including student dormitories.

“In the past, drugs used to be exchanged in person, but now dealers are using no-contact distribution schemes, hiding spice and ‘speed’ in dead-drop caches and receiving money through various payment systems,” Elena Samorukova, Chief Expert of Information and Public Relations Group of Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation in the region, told PenzaNews agency.

She added that the department successfully eliminated one of the largest criminal synthetic drug trafficking groups in December 2014.

“It involved 9 people, and each member of the group had a clearly defined role and responsibility. The synthetic drugs were ordered from China. During the operation, the officers seized over 5 kilograms of smoking mixes and reagents,” said the public relations officer.

According to her, marijuana, poppy straw, and heroin and krokodil (desomorphine) are the second, third, and fourth most often confiscated illegal drugs in the Penza region.

“However, the popularity of the latter drug [krokodil] in the region has decreased dramatically after the state introduced prescription requirements for codeine-containing medicine, which are a major component in the production,” remarked the representative of the Federal Drug Control Service of the Russian Federation in the region.