Employees of the Volga Operational and Central Postal Customs Office have uncovered a large-scale military equipment smuggling scheme organized by a citizen of the European Union. The criminal, using instant messengers, contacted Russian citizens from various cities, offering them to buy military goods - rifle sights, body armor and other equipment, and then repackage them and send them abroad. Payment for such services was made in cryptocurrency, which made it difficult to track financial flows and participants in the illegal scheme.

Customs officers managed to intercept 20 parcels with contraband products, which contained components intended for military use. As a result, law enforcement agencies opened 19 criminal cases against the EU citizen under the article "Smuggling of other weapons, military equipment." The investigation is ongoing, and operatives are working to clarify all the details of the scheme and search for possible accomplices.

The channel's organizer operated through an extensive network of intermediaries — Russians who fulfilled orders by purchasing and sending military equipment. The scheme was essentially quite simple: he coordinated the process of purchasing goods and their subsequent shipment outside of Russia via messengers.