Court convicts Kohtla‑Järve drug ring connected to two substance‑related deaths
A court has convicted a Kohtla‑Järve drug gang led by a Latvian couple who trafficked narcotics from Latvia into Estonia.
In total, nine people were suspected of the drug crime, one of whom died during the three‑year court process. At the head of the gang was a Latvian couple, Otto Burkevičs and Jelena Burkeviča, who had moved to Kohtla‑Järve. Using their connections, they themselves brought or had couriers bring narcotic substances from Latvia to Ida‑Virumaa.
"These were very dangerous narcotic substances. They are dangerous because they are extremely potent — carfentanil and nitazenes," said District Prosecutor Sergei Listov.
The drugs were mainly bought by people with addiction problems. The investigation established that at least two people died as a result of consuming drugs purchased from the gang. The main seller, Andrei Taturevitš, followed Friday's court hearing in Jõhvi from Tallinn Prison, but even during the time he was selling drugs, his movement was restricted due to an ankle monitor.
"An unprecedented case, where a person who had just been convicted of a drug crime and who was still under electronic monitoring ordered by the court continued handling narcotic substances regardless of everything. And in such a way that he sold from his apartment window or people came to him — practically openly he sold narcotic substances every day and used them himself," said Listov.
In plea proceedings, the gang members were sentenced to an average of three to five years of actual or conditional imprisonment. In addition, the Latvian couple received a ten‑year entry ban to Estonia.
The investigation established that the gang operated from October 2022 to January 2023.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Argo Ideon
