VOLGOGRAD, November 26 (RIA Novosti) - Counter-narcotics police in Russia's southern city of Volgograd have broken up an inter-regional cocaine smuggling ring based in St. Petersburg and arrested a courier with one of the largest hauls of the drug in the region in recent years, the Federal Counter-Narcotics Agency (FSKN) said.
The police estimate the seized drugs to be worth over a million rubles ($33,000).
"Agents worked on the operation against this channel to bring cocaine into Volgograd for several months. Addresses and identities were established, and after receiving information about arrival of a courier in Volgograd with a large batch of cocaine, a decision was taken to put the final stage of the operation together," the FSKN said.
The courier was detained near the rail station with 130 grams of cocaine and 180 grams of hashish.
"This is the first time such a large amount of cocaine has been found in this region," the agency said. "This find is worth around one million rubles."
A case has been opened over possession of large amounts of narcotics, which carries a sentence of up to 20 years prison.
