Police catch drug couriers operating over 450 caches across Estonia
In mid-September, police in Rakvere detained two men, aged 21 and 24, on suspicion of drug offenses. Evidence gathered so far indicates that the men worked as couriers, placing drugs in caches across Estonia.
On September 15, police caught the two men in the act in Rakvere and detained them. According to information currently available, the suspects had driven from Tallinn to Rakvere that day. Their task was to weigh and package drugs into suitable quantities and then place nearly 200 grams of cocaine in an area in Rakvere designated by the people who had recruited them.
During the investigation, police have determined that the suspects may be linked to more than 450 drug caches in Lääne-Viru County, Tallinn, Rapla, Viljandi and Jõhvi.
In recent weeks, police officers across Estonia have checked possible cache locations and found drugs in more than 300 of them. In total, police have seized several kilograms of drugs from the caches and during searches, including cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine and MDMA.
Rainet Juuse, head of the criminal investigation bureau at the East Prefecture, said police began investigating how the men operated and the possible extent of their activities.
"We involved police officers across Estonia in locating the caches. We have now established that the suspects were recruited as drug couriers through the messaging app Telegram. The criminal investigation will determine exactly how and where the men obtained the drugs and who gave them their instructions," Juuse said.
District prosecutor Kalmer Kask, who is leading the proceedings, said neither man has a previous criminal conviction.
"We are seeing an increasing number of cases in which criminal networks recruit young adults or people with substance use disorders to hide drugs," Kask said.
The investigation is being conducted by the East Prefecture and led by the Viru District Prosecutor's Office.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Marcus Turovski
