Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday confirmed a drug heist in which 389 kilograms of cocaine was confiscated and a former Russian diplomat was detained.
At least six people, including a former Russian diplomat and an Argentinian police officer, were detained on Thursday in a cross-border drug string which dates back to 2016.
The joint operation between Russia and Argentina began after the Russian Ambassador in Buenos Aires discovered large amounts of cocaine on the embassy’s premises and notified local authorities.
The bags of cocaine were replaced with flour and fitted with a tracking device. The drugs and their recipients were intercepted on Thursday in Moscow after being sent on a diplomatic plane, media reports said.
In the first official comments from Moscow, Zakharova said in a statement there was no need to reiterate the details of the case but denied the cargo could have been sent via diplomatic channels.
She also slammed coverage of the report that could portray Moscow in a bad light.
“Some ‘experts’ have said this case casts a shadow over our diplomats,” the statement continued. “It is precisely the other way round: the success of this operation was thanks to the effective work of the Russian Ambassador and diplomatic staff.”
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