Anti-narcotics agents in the republic of Buryatia have confiscated 188 kilograms of marijuana and detained eight people suspected of planning to sell the drugs, the local branch of the Federal Drug Control Service said Thursday.
Agents discovered 26 packages hidden around a camp in a forest, not far from the border with Mongolia, the service said in a statement. The bust — codenamed Operation Poppy — took place Sunday.
The suspected drug dealers, seven of whom had prior convictions, were from Buryatia and the neighboring Irkutsk region, the statement said. All of the suspects appeared to be under the influence of narcotics at the time of their detention.
The suspects face up to 20 years in prison for large-scale drug dealing as part of an organized group.
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