13 November, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. A drug dealer has been detained in Vitebsk, the Department for Drug Control and Countering Human Trafficking (DCCCHT) of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee informed a BELTA correspondent. During operational-search activities, law enforcement officers detained a 20-year-old man near one of the entertainment venues in the regional centre who was distributing drugs among young people. During a search, 5g of marijuana were found on him. It was established that the Vitebsk resident, who was also a user himself, had been distributing various narcotic substances through his circle of acquaintances for several months. A criminal case has been initiated against the man under Part 2 of Article 328 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (illegal production, processing, acquisition, storage, transportation or dispatch for the purpose of sale, or illegal sale of narcotic drugs), which provides for up to 8 years of imprisonment with possible confiscation of property. In total, from January to October of the current year, internal affairs bodies of the region, through the DCCCHT line, have identified 421 crimes, including 86 grave and particularly grave ones, of which 71 are related to drug dealing. 110 kg 107 g of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances have been seized from illegal circulation, including over 32 kg of poppy straw, more than 77 kg of marijuana, 231 g of heroin, 121 g of hashish, and 403 g of psychotropic substances. Of the seized substances, 30 represented large batches. Furthermore, 11 channels of drug supply and transit have been suppressed in the region. -0-

BELTA