Belarusian prosecutors declined to investigate possible police involvement in opium trafficking

During interrogations, suspects accused police officers of involvement in the racket, including taking protection money. Yet none of those named — including at least three men serving in uniform at the time the drug ring was active, and a former officer with contacts in the department — were brought to trial.

According to the case files obtained by Buro, traffickers said they paid over $475,000 in bribes between 2011 and 2017 to various police departments in the Belarusian capital of Minsk, including the Internal Affairs Division and district-level units.

The Belarusian Interior Ministry told Buro the case was not under its jurisdiction. The Internal Affairs Division, the Investigative Committee, and the Prosecutor General’s Office all declined to comment.

The “poppy case” — named after the plant that is the source of opium — was opened in 2017 and led to the prosecution of 29 people, some of whom remain behind bars. They received prison sentences ranging from three to 14 years for selling poppy seeds contaminated with narcotic substances.

Buro reported that the seeds were laced with poppy “straw” — dust from the crushed heads and stalks of the plant. Poppy straw is a byproduct of the process of extracting poppy seeds for food, and it contains traces of opium. 

Though poppy seeds themselves are not considered psychotropic, their contamination with straw allowed authorities to initiate criminal prosecutions. However, the court files obtained by Buro show that charges did not extend to police officers allegedly implicated in the drug ring.

One defendant in the case said he paid a retired lieutenant colonel around $350,000 over six and a half years for “protection.” According to testimony, the retired lieutenant colonel passed most of this money to serving law enforcement officers to assist drug traffickers. 

Defendants also claimed they shared information with him about rival dealers, and he relayed this to police contacts who carried out raids. The retired lieutenant colonel was detained for three days and released, but his phone apparently was not monitored. He was questioned but not charged.

Another officer named during interrogations allegedly met with traffickers while he was deputy head of the Interior Ministry’s Department for Drug Control and Combating Human Trafficking. He left his post shortly before interrogations in the “poppy case.” There is no record in the case files of him testifying. 

Both the retired lieutenant colonel and former deputy head of the drug control body denied involvement when contacted by Buro.

Two more officers were also mentioned in defendants’ testimony. One had allegedly offered to drop charges against members of the trafficking ring in exchange for information. The other allegedly offered to cooperate with the traffickers. Neither of the officers were questioned during the investigation.

The officers did not respond to requests for comment from Buro.