Thanks to the cooperation of Ukrainian and Moldovan law enforcement agencies, a criminal organization engaged in the trafficking of the psychotropic substance sibutramine in the form of weight loss pills was uncovered in April 2025. It consisted of nine citizens of Ukraine and two citizens of Moldova.

 Currently, it has been additionally established within the investigation that the goods were smuggled from the Republic of Moldova to Ukraine. The continuous transportation of prohibited substances, concealed from customs control, was organized by a resident of Khmelnytskyi, who led the criminal organization, along with two residents of Mohyliv-Podilskyi in the Vinnytsia region.

Other members of the criminal organization — residents of Kyiv, Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and Vinnytsia — were responsible for their distribution and sale.

Law enforcement documented 13 instances of serious and particularly serious criminal offenses committed by members of the criminal organization.

During the operations to uncover and halt the activities of the criminal organization, law enforcement seized over 150,000 tablets containing sibutramine.

The actions of nine individuals have been classified as the creation, leadership of a criminal organization, and participation in it, as well as the illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, and sale of a psychotropic substance (part 1, 2 of Article 255, part 4 of Article 28, part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Additionally, three others are charged with the smuggling of psychotropic substances (part 3 of Article 305 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Furthermore, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Moldova has reported suspicions against two more citizens of the country who, according to their data, were involved in supplying dietary supplements containing psychotropics to the Ukrainian border.

Under the procedural guidance of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor's Office, the pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings is being conducted by the investigative department with operational support from the Department for Combating Drug Crimes of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Khmelnytskyi region and the Security Service of Ukraine in Khmelnytskyi region.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.