Russian security forces, together with the United States, have broken down an international drug trafficking network. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) carried out the mission with the US drug investigation agency DEA.
In the rare collaboration, they seized 330 kilos of cocaine worth about 1 billion rubles, which is more than 10 million euros.
The FSB said that the DEA helped locate and apprehend a criminal group specializing in smuggling cocaine from South America to Russia and Europe.
The operation began in Saint Petersburg in May this year and ended with the discovery of a cocaine shipment in the Moscow region last month. The DEA and the US Embassy in Moscow have not yet responded to the FSB’s announcement.
The operation is a rare example of cooperation between Russia and the United States. Relations between the two countries are tense. Washington MPs recently accused Russia of a massive cyber-attack on US government agencies, although Russia says there is no evidence of this.
Russian President Putin said this month that ties with the US are unlikely to improve under the forthcoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.
