В Аргентині знову затримали підозрюваних у справі про кокаїн, знайдений у школі при посольстві РФ.

This was reported by Настоящее время, as conveyed by Укрінформ.

It is noted that this action was taken following a request from prosecutor Abel Cordoba and the corresponding decision of the Supreme Court of Argentina.

The defense is attempting to appeal the re-arrest.

Former police officer Ivan Bliznyuk and ship mechanic Alexander Chikalo (natives of Russia who have been residing in Argentina since the 1990s) were apprehended at the end of December 2024 and returned to the Marcos Paz prison near Buenos Aires, where they had been held since February 2018.

In April 2022, Bliznyuk received a sentence of 7 years and 7 months in prison, while Chikalo was sentenced to 6 years. At that time, they had been in custody for over four years. A few months after the verdict, both were released on parole.

According to the investigation, the former police officer and the ship mechanic were part of an international criminal organization that purchased, stored in a school basement at the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires, and attempted to smuggle nearly 400 kilograms of cocaine to Europe. Experts estimate that the drug shipment, packed in 12 suitcases, could be worth around $3 million in Argentina and $39 million in Russia.

The criminal group also included four other individuals: entrepreneur Andriy Kovalchuk, former embassy property manager Ali Abyanov, as well as businessmen Volodymyr Kalmykov and Ishtimir Khudjamov. In December 2021, they were sentenced in Moscow to prison terms ranging from 13 to 18 years.

As reported by Укрінформ, Dutch customs seized a cocaine shipment at the port of the city of Vlissingen (Zeeland province).

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