Police representative Līga Dziļuma told LETA agency that not only a large amount of narcotic substances were confiscated, but also the necessary substances and equipment for their production.
Several persons have been detained – including persons who are not citizens of Latvia, she said.
“For the moment, we can already talk about the confiscation of more than one ton of finished products, as well as precursors, but the volume will definitely be larger,” she said, stressing that expertise should be awaited to determine the exact weight and composition of the seized substances. At the same time, it is already clear that these are synthetic drugs.
The police revealed that this was a long-term operation, which was also supported by the European Police Office (Europol).
The State Police draws attention to the fact that since the beginning of the operation there was no threat to the population, as all actions were coordinated and controlled. The law enforcers point out that if we want the police to successfully combat the organized drug mafia, more information cannot be provided during an active operation, when searches and other procedural actions take place.
At the moment, the criminal proceedings and investigation are still ongoing, so the police refrain from further comments, but promise to inform more about this operation soon.
In the “Panorāma” program of the Latvian Television, the head of the State Police, Armands Ruks, emphasized that synthetic drugs are involved in the case, but he refrained from naming the specific substance.
However, it is one of the biggest withdrawals in recent years – it is a very large amount, more than a ton, he noted.
The criminal proceedings took place simultaneously in several cities, the police chief emphasized.
LETA already reported that the State Police conducted a large-scale operation on the Alūksne side, but did not reveal the details of what happened until Saturday evening.
Evita Aploka, the public relations specialist of the municipality of Alūksne region, told the LETA agency that there is no official information about what is happening in the municipality.
Latvijas Televīzija previously reported that in Ziemera Parish, near Alūksne, local residents observed active police activity in the territory of a warehouse, which could indicate the discovery of an illegal enterprise.
The warehouse area is located a few kilometers from Alūksne, in a remote wooded area.
Latvijas Televīzija observed people in white suits at the scene, who took out various things from the basement of the building. According to eyewitnesses, several tons of chemicals were removed from the facility.
Meanwhile, the former manager of the territory, owner of SIA “Werners and friends” Verners Kalējs told “Lsm.lv” portal that he sold and rented some properties, but recently he noticed that there was a large consumption of water and electricity.
The blacksmith was able to say that a person of Polish nationality who lives in Germany was active in the territory. The entrepreneur asked for permission to temporarily use the power line and sewerage of the Kalējs company, to which Kalējs agreed, concluding a contract for a year.
Kalējs said that nothing suspicious was seen in the area until the arrival of security forces in cars, quad bikes and drones on Wednesday night.
2024-10-06 15:06:02