A programmer from Ivano-Frankivsk region received a verdict in a case involving ordering a drug — kratom — via Telegram. He faced five years in prison for illegally purchasing and storing drugs in particularly large quantities, but the court released him from serving the sentence. What helped?
A programmer from Ivano-Frankivsk region received a verdict in a case involving ordering a drug — kratom — via Telegram. He faced five years in prison for illegally purchasing and storing drugs in particularly large quantities, but the court released him from serving the sentence. What helped?
According to the case materials, the man, who officially worked as a programmer under the FOP model, had no criminal record and ordered two packages of the substance Mitragyna speciosa (kratom) for his own consumption via the Telegram channel «Kratom Ukraine». He received the package at a «Nova Poshta» post office in the village of Zabolotiv, Ivano-Frankivsk region.
After receiving the package, the programmer was stopped by police officers near the post office. During the conversation, he reported that he had a package with a prohibited substance, and later voluntarily handed it over to investigators. An examination found that inside were 194.422 grams of crushed Mitragyna speciosa leaves, which the law considers to be of particularly large size.
The man’s actions were classified under Part 3 of Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illegal acquisition and storage of narcotic drugs without the purpose of sale in especially large quantities. The sanction of the article provides for five to eight years of imprisonment.
During the pre-trial investigation, the accused entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor. The court took into account that he had no previous convictions, sincerely repented, actively contributed to the resolution of the crime, had a positive character, was not registered with a narcologist or psychiatrist, and had also transferred charitable assistance to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As a result, the court sentenced the programmer to five years in prison, but released him from serving the sentence with a one-year probationary period. He must also regularly report to the probation agency, report any changes in his place of residence or work, and not travel outside Ukraine without permission. In addition, the court charged him almost UAH 2,000 for the costs of conducting an examination.
