Russian law enforcement officers have apprehended a rather unusual drug-runner
© The Russian Interior Ministry
Russian police officers have caught a drug-running woman in the Urals city of Nizhny Tagil, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday. The suspect was in possession of a large haul of metamfepramone, concealed inside the garments of a pet cat that was dressed like a baby.
“The suspected dead-dropper was caught red-handed near a suburban village on the outskirts of the city. To avoid suspicion, she pretended to be a mother walking her underage daughter and her baby. However, the insulated clothes for newborns, which the subject carried in her hands, contained a pet cat,” Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk said.
Footage released by the Interior Ministry shows police officers undressing the cat, which was sporting a full set of baby clothing, including warm overalls, multiple shirts, a knitted hat and even a diaper. After the search, the grumpy-looking feline was left wearing only a gray hoodie and black cat booties. The suspect herself was sporting an eared hat with a feline face and the word ‘cat’ embroidered on it, the video shows.
During the search, the police recovered five packages of substance that turned out to be metamfepramone, an illicit stimulant drug. According to investigators, the suspect obtained the haul from a dead drop upon receiving instructions from her anonymous hirer online. The woman was to pack the drugs into smaller packages to distribute them to end users via dead drops. She managed to make 12 stashes before ultimately being apprehended by the police.
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Further evidence was discovered at the woman’s rental flat, including digital scales, containers for drugs and more illicit substances. According to the ministry, a total of 170 grams of drugs were recovered during the searches – an amount that is deemed to be “considerable” under Russian law and carries a punishment of eight to 15 years behind bars.
