Drug dealer scam in Russia - Don't become a drug distributor!

Foreigners (especially students or those in Russia illegally) are often offered a highly paid job with a flexible schedule where they don't have to do basically anything. All they need to do is put a small bag in a secluded place and take a photo of it. Of course most people are well aware that these bags contain illicit drugs, but why do so many people go to jail every year despite this fact?

Not only foreigners, but Russian citizens become contactless drug distributors who hide drugs in stashes. They're informally called «stashmen» (кладмен) in Russian. There is not a single country where this problem doesn't exist. But we made this article to let foreigners staying in Russia know what it may lead to here.

The point is, people who hire drug distributors are ready to tell any lies to make their target believe it's safe.

The employers promise legal support in case of arrest, convince that the team is one for all, and all for one, that they have everything under control and will quickly get the arrested out. In fact, no one never even lifts a finger to save such a small pawn.

As you may know, the structure of the modern drug business is built on anonymous online sales and is multi-stage, when the links of one chain don't know each other. This allows large drug dealers to remain in the shadows; and it's extremely difficult to reach them through distributors. That's why they do not spare «laborers» and perceive them as cannon fodder, doomed to destruction. If one disappears, another will come to replace him.

The employers also swear all you may face for participating in this activity is a one-year suspended sentence, no more, but this is a downright lie - the punishments for this crime are enormous, from 8 to 15 years in prison, sometimes up to 20. Plus, a large fine often accompanies imprisonment. Open the Criminal Code of the Russia Federation, article 228 and you'll see yourself this article does not even imply a suspended sentence.

Another lie employers tell is that the distributor can quit this activity at any time. This is not the case. Firstly, the life of a «peddler» is short-lived: most are sent to a pre-trial detention center within a month, and the most resourceful ones, on average, manage to work for no more than six months. Secondly, even if the police haven't caught you yet, leaving this business may be not as easy as it seems. Employment usually begins with a request to scan your passport or send a photo of it. Then this personal data can be used in cases where a person decides to quit the business, especially if he stole some goods; the bosses can, so to say, stage a show flogging to intimidate other «peddlers». And there are plenty of videos of such atrocities on the Internet.

In other words, what drug dealer employers offer is basically a scam, which is very easy to fall prey to. In Russia, in 2023 alone, 53 thousand 8 hundred people were convicted under Article 2 hundred 28 of the Criminal Code. Not all of them are so called «stashmen», but they make up a significant percentage. If you have already encountered such a problem, an ordinary lawyer will not be able to defend you in court, only a certified attorney at law. So feel free to contact me if you are in need of legal help in Russia.

Need legal help? Feel free to contact us:
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