Police detained eight members of an international gang. The detainees, aged between 24 and 35, include five Ukrainian citizens, two Polish and one Armenian national. Six have been remanded in custody.
Criminal proceedings were carried out simultaneously in several Latvian cities, including seven searches.
In total, more than one ton of finished synthetic drug clephedrone, more than 38,000 litres of various chemical liquids, which according to experts are precursors or basic materials for the production of synthetic drugs, were seized during the searches. Laboratory equipment and various items related to the production of narcotics, five transport vehicles – three cars and two trucks, several mobile phones, SIM cards, routers, a laptop computer and other items relevant to the investigation were also seized.
Forensic tests are still ongoing to determine the exact weight and composition of the seized substances.
Armands Ruks, chief of the State Police, informed that the last stage of the chemical process contained even larger stocks, so it is assumed that the volume of finished products seized from the criminals will reach several tons once the expert examination is completed.
„This is in fact the largest drug production laboratory that has been discovered in Latvia,“ Ruks told a press conference.
Police would not comment on whether the group had links to Latvian citizens. Ruks said that the police would not comment on the roles of the detainees, including whether the organiser of the crime had been arrested.
The drugs were not destined for the Latvian market, but possibly for other European countries, such as Scandinavia, as well as for the Russian and Belarusian markets. The „street value“ of one gram of such drugs is around EUR 20-25.
Ruks confirmed that at this stage, no links have been established with the Latvian organised crime leader Jurijs Spiridonovs, who was arrested in September, and members of his group, including those detained in Spain.
Ruks informed that the laboratory had not been operating in Latvia for a long time and that this was also the group’s operational strategy. Overall, the laboratory had been active for several months.
The drug seized is highly dangerous and highly addictive. Peteris Bauska, Head of the Serious and Serial Organised Crime Combating Department of the State Police, added that this was the second seizure of such a substance in Latvia in recent years and that it is known as a „happiness“ drug, which people use as a stimulant, for example, in discos.
Bauska informed that in Russia and other parts of Europe, such laboratories have been found regularly, for example in Poland since 2017. „They work for a short period of time and then change location,“ Bauska stressed.
The production processes in such laboratories are very dangerous because they use poisonous volatile substances such as bromine. Asked where the substances needed for the Aluksne laboratory were obtained, Bauska pointed out that the supply routes were still to be clarified, but, for example, in Poland it is not a criminal offence to store or transport precursors, and precursors are also used in household chemicals. „For example, amphetamine can be produced by going into a Depo hardware store, buying solvents, some chemicals and equipment, and can basically be done in the kitchen,“ Bauska stressed.
The police authorities also emphasised that the discovery of the laboratory was not the end of the story, as there is still a lot of international cooperation to be done to strengthen the evidence. Overall, several State Police units were involved in the operation, including the Omega Anti-Terrorism Unit, the Special Tasks Battalion and support from Europol.
Ruks informed that drug production sites have been periodically detected in Latvia in previous years. For example, 3-5 marijuana cultivation sites of different levels are discovered per year.