Law enforcement officials, with the assistance of the prosecutor's office, have shut down the operations of two online stores that were involved in the distribution of synthetic drugs.
The scheme was organized by a 23-year-old woman who managed all aspects of the operation—from the purchase and storage of illegal substances to their delivery to customers.
“To sell the drugs, the criminals used the Telegram platform,” the Astana police department specified.
As part of the investigation, operatives conducted 30 searches at the homes of the suspects. A total of 15 individuals were detained. Approximately 5 kilograms of synthetic drugs were seized, which corresponds to about 15,000 individual doses.
Earlier, another member of this group—a 26-year-old resident of Astana—was arrested. During a search, a vacuum cleaner was found containing a significant amount of mephedrone.