Illegal methadone factories busted in 2 central Latvian municipalities

RIGA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Latvian police have uncovered two large underground methadone factories in the central Latvian municipalities of Allazi and Taurupe, law enforcement officials informed at a news conference on Tuesday.

Both illegal drug factories had been well hidden on privately-owned properties -- one of them operated in a joiner's shop and the other in the basement of a chicken farm.

Sandis Radzins, a senior officer at the Latvian state police's department of organized crime, said the criminals operating the illegal plants had taken precautions to prevent the odors from escaping the premises during the chemical processes.

After an investigation began this summer, police seized a large amount of evidence from the two sites, including six kilograms of methadone and two tons of precursors, or ingredients from which the narcotics are made, the official said.

Investigators assume that the labs had been operating for about two years, making methadone mainly for foreign markets. It is thought that most of the methadone produced at these labs ended up in other EU member states, as well as outside the EU, but the drug route is still being investigated.

Six of the nine people arrested in connection with the case remain in custody. Three of the suspects probed as part in this case have been convicted for drug-related crimes in the past.

According to police officials, this was the largest anti-drugs operation carried out by the Latvian State Police in recent years and involved 100 police officers from various law enforcement units. Enditem