MOSCOW, November 8 (RAPSI) – A criminal case against an alleged organizer of international criminal group, which supplied drugs from North Africa to CIS countries, has been launched in Russia for the first time, the Interior Ministry’s press-service reports Wednesday.

A citizen of Moldova is charged with creation of a criminal organization by a person holding the supreme position in a criminal hierarchy, the statement reads. It is noted that he was repeatedly brought to trial for committing grave crimes outside Russia and was responsible for coordinating a large drug supply network.

During the preliminary investigation, Russian police officers alongside their colleagues from Moldova, Belarus and Spain arrested over 40 alleged members of the cartel during special operation called “Pyrenean Fracture,” the Ministry’s representative Irina Volk said.