Five Estonian nationals — JEVGENI BOKOV, VIKTOR LITVINTSUK, AMID MAGERRAMOV, NIKOLAI NIFTALIJEV, and VITALI VORONJUK — have been charged in Manhattan federal court with conspiring to flood U.S. streets with more than five kilograms of carfentanil, a synthetic opioid 1,000 times more potent than heroin. The indictment, announced by U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman and DEA Special Agent in Charge Christopher T. Tersigni, marks one of the largest seizures of fentanyl analogues in DEA history.
The arrests stem from a sting operation in which the defendants believed they were dealing with a Colombian drug cartel. In reality, the contact was a DEA confidential source. Between October 2017 and August 2018, the group held a series of recorded meetings and phone calls to arrange the importation of carfentanil and fentanyl into the United States. LITVINTSUK, MAGERRAMOV, NIFTALIJEV, and VORONJUK allegedly prepared and distributed the deadly mixtures, while BOKOV handled the dirty money.
In October 2017, MAGERRAMOV and BOKOV met the confidential source in an Eastern European country, where they were told the source operated as part of a cartel laundering narcotics proceeds. Days later, on October 20, 2017, BOKOV agreed to move hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug cash from Europe to the U.S. Between fall 2017 and spring 2018, the CS handed BOKOV approximately €250,000 in cash — funds BOKOV knew were derived from illegal narcotics sales.
The operation unraveled when Estonian authorities arrested all five suspects in September 2018. Today, BOKOV, MAGERRAMOV, and VORONJUK were extradited to New York and are set for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. LITVINTSUK was previously extradited and arraigned on February 6, 2019, before Judge Henry B. Pitman. NIFTALIJEV remains in custody in Estonia as U.S. officials press for his extradition.
“The arrest of these five defendants for allegedly conspiring to traffic large quantities of carfentanil — a drug 1,000 times more potent than heroin — is yet another important case brought by this Office and the DEA in keeping deadly drugs out of our neighborhoods,” said Berman. “A key component in battling the opioid epidemic is disrupting the supply chain, and today is another important step in that fight.”
“Fentanyl and carfentanil are extremely dangerous and deadly,” warned DEA Special Agent in Charge Christopher T. Tersigni. “Two milligrams of fentanyl, the amount of two grains of salt, can kill a person, and carfentanil is even more potent. We are pleased to see these individuals brought to justice as we continue to fight to keep this poison out of the United States.” The case is now assigned to U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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