How Drug Stashers Are Caught in the Moscow Suburbs: An Interview

Originally published: September 10, 2017

Brief Introduction: I have a friend who once decided to become a cop. He’s actually a decent guy, but he chose a tough line of work. Now he’s a district officer in the Moscow suburbs. We rarely see each other, but every time we meet, I bombard him with questions about how they catch dealers, stashers, and all that. Yesterday, I ran into him on a suburban train and managed to get a half-hour interview in the vestibule. Here are the main questions and answers. I’ll be “I,” and the cop will be “C.”

I: What’s the method for catching stashers? How do you do it?

C: There’s no real method. Honestly, catching a smart stasher is extremely hard. Most often, we catch Tajiks working for 200 rubles per stash (they’re stashing heroin or spice) or just regular buyers. “Professionals” are rare (laughs).

I: Is there any way to identify a stasher on the street?

C: Honestly? No specific method. Just observation. If you see a young guy with a backpack, walking alone in an industrial area and looking around a lot—it’s worth keeping an eye on him. Of course, there are idiots who take pictures of boiler rooms at midnight and have phones full of stash photos. I’ve seen four of those in two years. But that’s the exception.

I: Did you catch all of them?

C: Not all. One managed to get away. Two were caught while taking photos, with ready-made stashes in their backpacks. Another was caught in the woods trying to pick up a wholesale stash for further distribution—he had Tor browser and VPN on his phone. We found him while patrolling at midnight. We got lucky; he basically exposed himself.

I: Do you know which sites they were using?

C: What do you mean, sites?

I: Yeah, websites.

C: Two were from RAMP. The one in the woods used something else, I don’t remember.

I: Do you visit darknet sites often? Do the police even check what’s there?

C: Many know about them, but almost no one actually visits. At least that’s how it is here. I don’t know about Moscow, maybe they’re more advanced there. I used to check RAMP sometimes to see what was in my city. But since there are only 3-4 sellers, it didn’t give much info.

I: Got it. How do you catch buyers?

C: That’s also not easy in the city. It’s easier in the woods—what are young guys doing there at night? Besides athletes and dog walkers, no one’s in the parks late at night. In the city, you might catch someone by accident while driving by, or if you’re watching a specific area. We tried the second method, but it’s basically useless unless you’re sure there’s a wholesale stash. Plus, you never know when the buyer will show up. I heard from colleagues in Moscow that some officers somehow found 100 grams of meth hidden in an industrial area and waited for the client. On the second day, they caught the guy on the spot. That’s the only story like that I know.

I: How many buyers have you caught?

C: Not many. About 8-10 people in the last two years. And at least three of them were totally out of it. Almost all of them were walking toward the industrial area or woods, glued to their phones. Some were wandering around garages at night with flashlights. Basically, they gave themselves away.

I: Did they have a lot on them?

C: One had 50 grams of hash, ziplocks, and scales—he ended up doing time. The rest mostly got off with probation, I think. Or one just got an administrative charge, I don’t remember—he seemed to have dumped everything, we searched for 15 minutes and found nothing, so we took him in for a urine test. He had THC in his system, so it was just “use”—nothing serious. Though they might put him on a watch list. Not sure if they did.

I: Why so few busts? I’m surprised.

C: It’s not that few. We work the classic way—controlled buys. In 60% of cases, it’s heroin and immigrants. Hash is probably second. That’s how it is here. In Moscow, it’s different, but I don’t know all the specifics. The share of those selling through the internet is low in police work. The FSKN and FSB handle them, not us.

I: Heard about Telegram bots?

C: Yeah. But I haven’t seen any in our city. Just regular, live dealers.

I: Any last words? (His stop was next)

C: I’ll say this: about 70% of cases are drugs. The rest are theft and fraud. Almost always young guys. It’s a really bad trend. For anyone reading this: don’t mess around with this stuff. Smoking a little or popping a pill with your girlfriend is one thing, but if you start selling, sooner or later you’ll get in serious trouble. That’s my opinion. Use your head. As for spice and bath salts, I won’t even comment—both sellers and users are the worst. Be better than that.