Friday-night drug deals helping Russian war machine, UK crime agency warns

The National Crime Agency (NCA) warns that buying drugs in the UK on Friday nights can indirectly support Russian arms factories via a Russian-led money-laundering network. The NCA's Operation Destabilise uncovered TGR and Smart networks facilitating money laundering for criminal activities, including funding arms factories for the Ukraine war. The investigation revealed complex schemes involving cash-rich businesses, overseas laundering, and even using products like washing powder to smuggle cash. The NCA is ramping up efforts to disrupt these networks, targeting everyone involved from top-level operators to lowly couriers, with warnings of lengthy jail sentences and imminent consequences.