In Volgograd Region, police found drug-plantation disguised as sunflower field

"Officers of the Department for Drug Control of the MIA of Russia GA for the Volgograd Region, together with colleagues from the city of Mikhailovka, detained two local residents.

During the Operation "Poppy", the police found that a former employee of a local agricultural enterprise found an unusual way to grow the banned plant. After sunflower was planted on a field owned by the farm, the offender, along with his unemployed friend, secretly sowed hemp seeds there.

To remain unnoticed, the men made their way to the plantation early in the morning and manually cut off the ripe stems. In the middle of the field, they laid a canvas on which they dried the plants. They were detained with the power support of special detachment "Grom". Parts of dried hemp with a total weight of more than 57 kg were seized for research. According to the conclusions of forensic experts, they are a narcotic drug.

The Investigator of the MIA of Russia Division for the city of Mikhailovka has instituted a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under part 2 of Article 228 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The court chose in respect of the suspects a preventive measure in the form of remand in custody," said the official representative of the MIA of Russia Irina Volk.