December 3, 2024 at 02:34AM
A Russian court sentenced Hydra’s leader, Stanislav Moiseev, to life for running an online drug marketplace, alongside 15 co-conspirators receiving 8 to 23 years. The gang was charged with drug production and sales, with their operations disrupted in 2022 following an international police raid. Appeals are expected.
Here are the key takeaways from the meeting notes:
1. **Life Sentences and Fines**: Stanislav Moiseev, the leader of the Hydra drug trafficking organization, has been sentenced to life in prison and fined 4 million rubles (approx. $37,500). Fifteen co-conspirators received prison sentences ranging from 8 to 23 years and fines totaling 16 million rubles (approx. $150,000).
2. **Charges**: The group was convicted for the production and sale of psychotropic substances and drugs and will serve their sentences in harsh penal camps. Appeals against the verdicts are reportedly in progress.
3. **Hydra Marketplace**: Established in 2015, Hydra was a major online drugs market that processed transactions worth about 1 billion rubles (approx. $9.3 million) per year. The platform was dismantled in 2022 during international police operations that led to the seizure of its servers and a large cache of illegal narcotics.
4. **Raids and Evidence**: The dismantling of the Hydra operation was supported by various raids in Russia and Belarus, which resulted in the confiscation of nearly a ton of illegal drugs and various assets linked to the gang.
5. **Unaccounted Individual**: Dmitry Olegovich Pavlov, alleged to be Hydra’s IT administrator, is not included among those sentenced but is already in custody following his arrest in 2022.
6. **Recent Arrests**: Russian authorities also announced the arrest of Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev, a prominent figure in the REvil ransomware group, who was targeting Russian entities.
7. **State Security Concerns**: The Ministry of Internal Affairs highlighted that the Hydra organization had connections to acts aimed at undermining state power in Russia, with allegations of illegal activities being coordinated through call centers based in Ukraine.