Penza, 25 September 2015. PenzaNews. The officers of the Federal Drug Control Service department in the Penza region have seized nearly 5.5 kg of synthetic drugs, or about 436,680 doses, during a raid on a criminal gang.

“The gang was comprised of 12 persons: two of them are registered in the Samara region, one on the Vladimir region and nine in Penza, each with their own role and responsibilities. Its founder is a Samara resident, 22, who learned his illegal craft from Thailand drug dealers and managed to secure a channel of shipping Chinese synthetic drugs to Russia. The drug dealer chose Penza as his place of sales, and gathered a team of like-minded people through Internet ads,” 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.

The gang used several counterfeit credit cards registered in multiple Russian banks to manage their funds, and a network of 83 SIM cards for communication, she explained.

“They advertised drug sales not only online but through graffiti on buildings and fences. To remain anonymous, they distributed drugs solely through stashes. Based on investigation data, the gang members were selling drugs to dozens to hundreds of addicts, making an average of 30 sales per day,” the speaker explained.

It took the law enforcement forces almost two months to analyze the group, Elena Samorukova noted.

“First, the drug control services arrested two low-level distributors: a student of a Penza university, and a college student. Afterwards, the drug control officials arrested four large-scale distributors, and the last to be captured were the drug sales network operators and the gang organizer,” she explained.

Apart from drugs, the drug control department seized 25 cellphones, 14 tablet computers, laptops and PCs, five electronic scales and a batch of tight-seal baggies, she continued.

“We found proof of money laundering for over 3,262,000 rubles. All members of the criminal gang will soon face the court,” Elena Samorukova added.