A wheelchair user and former basketball player from Ussuriysk was detained on the M7 Volga highway near Kazan for possessing 20 kilograms of narcotics. The incident was reported by the Telegram channel Shot.
According to the report, the 32-year-old athlete was traveling from Nizhny Novgorod toward the Irkutsk region in a Honda Jade. A fixed checkpoint in Kazan halted the vehicle for inspection, and officers noted the driver appeared very tense. During a thorough search, investigators discovered a bag containing 20 kilograms of a white powder hidden between the second and third rows of seats. Laboratory tests confirmed the substance to be mephedrone.
The man was detained on the roadside. It is stated that he is a first-degree disabled person with a spinal cord injury. In the past, he played wheelchair basketball for Spartak-Primorye and competed in the Russian Championship with that team.
Officials are considering initiating a criminal case under the article that addresses illegal production, sale or transfer of narcotic drugs, especially on a large scale. The potential penalties include life imprisonment, depending on the findings of the investigation and the specifics of the charges.
A separate report mentions a former football player who reportedly sought a five million dollar reward from the Ministry of Internal Affairs related to a video involving mephedrone. The reliability and connections of that claim have not been independently verified at this time and are not part of the current investigation into the narcotics case.