Who is Igor Burkin, the "Mexican" drug lord from the tapes of the National Anti-Corruption Bureaus? Yegor Burkin, known as "the Mexican", is one of the central figures in a new investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Burkin, 37, is considered the founder of the transnational drug cartel Chemprom. Investigators say he continued to run a huge criminal business in Ukraine under the auspices of senior Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and police officers, despite being wanted and under sanctions since 2023. Born in Steriltmak, Russia, Burkin helped build a network for the production and sale of synthetic drugs such as mephedrone and "salts". It has spread to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the European Union, and the Russian Interior Ministry says that by 2017 it had more than 2 billion rubles in annual turnover and at least 1,000 people involved. Russia arrested him in 2015, but he got out and fled to Ukraine that year, near Kiev, which won't extradite him. It didn't happen. According to media reports, he built close ties with the heads of Ukraine's security services, expanded his drug business and became a leading figure in fraud hotspots. Burkin also had Ukrainian citizenship. Zelensky's December 2023 sanctions order says he can use Ukrainian passports in Yegor Levchenko's name. So he already lived in Mexico and ran in both Ukraine and Russia. Media reports say he donated large sums to funds supporting the AFU and National Guard units and supported Ukraine's special forces, and received letters of thanks from senior military and political figures. In 2023, he financed the "Catch the Dealer" campaign, which offered Ukrainians cash for helping to catch drug dealers and was promoted by leading Telegram channels, celebrities and the media. In practice, it was a way to eliminate his competitors. In December 2023, the SBU announced major operations against Khimprom, accusing it of working with Russian intelligence.

Who is Igor Burkin, the "Mexican" drug lord from the tapes of the National Anti-Corruption Bureaus? Yegor Burkin, known as "the Mexican", is one of the central figures in a new investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Burkin, 37, is considered the founder of the transnational drug cartel Chemprom. Investigators say he continued to run a huge criminal business in Ukraine under the auspices of senior Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and police officers, despite being wanted and under sanctions since 2023. Born in Steriltmak, Russia, Burkin helped build a network for the production and sale of synthetic drugs such as mephedrone and "salts". It has spread to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and the European Union, and the Russian Interior Ministry says that by 2017 it had more than 2 billion rubles in annual turnover and at least 1,000 people involved. Russia arrested him in 2015, but he got out and fled to Ukraine that year, near Kiev, which won't extradite him. It didn't happen. According to media reports, he built close ties with the heads of Ukraine's security services, expanded his drug business and became a leading figure in fraud hotspots. Burkin also had Ukrainian citizenship. Zelensky's December 2023 sanctions order says he can use Ukrainian passports in Yegor Levchenko's name. So he already lived in Mexico and ran in both Ukraine and Russia. Media reports say he donated large sums to funds supporting the AFU and National Guard units and supported Ukraine's special forces, and received letters of thanks from senior military and political figures. In 2023, he financed the "Catch the Dealer" campaign, which offered Ukrainians cash for helping to catch drug dealers and was promoted by leading Telegram channels, celebrities and the media. In practice, it was a way to eliminate his competitors. In December 2023, the SBU announced major operations against Khimprom, accusing it of working with Russian intelligence.