Russian ‘mastermind’ in cocaine plot arrested in Germany

This undated handout photo released on February 22, 2018 by Argentina's Security Ministry and taken in Buenos Aires shows policemen working during an operation which resulted in the seizure of nearly 400 kilos of cocaine from the Russian embassy in Buenos Aires. (AFP)

BERLIN: German police said on Friday they had arrested Andrei Kovalchuk, the alleged mastermind of a plot to smuggle cocaine to Russia from Moscow’s embassy in Argentina.
The unusual case came to light last week when Argentine police said they had seized nearly 400 kg of cocaine worth some $62 million hidden in suitcases in the Russian Embassy school.
Russia’s ambassador had raised the alarm after discovering the drugs in December, prompting the joint operation by the two countries’ law enforcement agencies.
Three Russians, including the embassy’s former maintenance manager, were detained in Moscow in December, the ministry said. Argentina has also detained two suspects. A sixth man, Kovalchuk, was believed to be the man who ran the smuggling ring.
On Thursday night, Berlin forces swooped on the alleged mastermind.
“He is now in police custody,” said a Berlin police spokesman.
Prosecutors in Berlin said the 49-year-old Russian national was detained as part of an international investigation spearheaded by Moscow.
“The allegation: Founding of a criminal organization with the aim of smuggling cocaine from Argentina to Russia,” said the prosecutors on Twitter.
Russian news agency Interfax, quoting a source close to the Russian investigation, said Moscow would seek the extradition of Kovalchuk, and that proceedings “could take months, maybe more.”
The case has sparked controversy in Russia, where the media has raised questions over contradictory official accounts of the joint operation snaring the drug ring.
Argentina’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich had claimed the gang had sought to use the Russian diplomatic courier service to fly the cocaine to Europe. But Russia’s Foreign Ministry denied that the diplomatic pouch was involved in the plot.
After Argentinian police tweeted images of a Russian aircraft used in the sting operation that bears the number of security council chief Nikolai Patrushev’s plane, the Kremlin denied involvement of any of its fleet.
Questions were also raised over the whereabouts of the cocaine, with some reports speculating that it had been flown to Moscow in the sting operation, even though Argentinian police said the drugs had been replaced by flour.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Wednesday lashed out at what he called “targeted efforts to smear” the operation, RIA Novosti state news agency reported.