More than 10 kg of drug precursors intended for sale: Mykolaiv resident sentenced to 9 years in prison

The court sentenced a 51-year-old resident of Mykolaiv to 9 years in prison for growing cannabis and illegally possessing raw drug material for sale. According to the Mykolaiv Region Police, the verdict was handed down in recent days. It has not yet become final.

The case began in July 2026, when officers from Police Unit No. 2 of the Mykolaiv District Police Department uncovered the man’s illegal activities. Acting on intelligence, law enforcement officers conducted a court-authorized search at his residence. At the property, they found and seized more than 10 kilograms of dried raw drug material and 14 cannabis plants.

During the pre-trial investigation, investigators established that the man had been growing drug-containing plants on the grounds of his property. He fertilized the soil, removed weeds, and watered the plants regularly.

The man kept the harvested material in the house: he dried some of the plants in the attic and had already ground and packed the rest into glass jars. According to the investigation, he was preparing it for further storage and sale. All the seized raw drug material was sent for forensic examination.

In July, investigators detained the man under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and notified him of suspicion under the following provisions:

• Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illegal production, manufacture, acquisition, or possession of narcotic drugs with intent to sell, or their sale, in especially large quantities;
• Part 1 of Article 310 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — sowing or growing opium poppy or cannabis.

At the pre-trial investigation stage, the court ordered the suspect to be held in custody, with the right to post bail.

According to the police, the evidence gathered and the prosecution’s consistent position enabled them to prove the man’s guilt in court of the criminal offenses with which he was charged. Following the trial, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison.

The procedure for a verdict to become final is set out in Article 532 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. If no appeal is filed, a first-instance court’s decision becomes final after the statutory appeal period expires. If an appeal is filed, the verdict—provided it is not overturned—becomes final after the appellate court issues its decision.

We previously reported:

• Cannabis for sale: man in Mykolaiv Region sentenced to up to nine years in prison
• More than 4,000 plants and cannabis by mail: large-scale drug business uncovered in Mykolaiv
• He went to the park and ended up in prison: Mykolaiv man was carrying 30 drug stashes
• Retired summer-house owner detained in Mykolaiv Region for growing and drying cannabis for sale
• A drug plantation instead of garden beds: how “weed” was grown in Mykolaiv Region