State stores accused of selling Spice
Spice is usually smoked for its cannabis-like effects which are believed to be caused by a mixture of synthetic cannabinoid drugs.
"Spice was sold in konfiskat stores," Ales Urubleuski charged. "The stores are run by the state. Many people saw it on the counters. Unfortunately, we did not manage to take pictures, but everyone knows that Spice was on sale.
An ERB correspondent did not find any Spice at stores. However, Konfiskat.by, a store operating under the authority of the Presidential Administration's Property Management Office, and other state outlets advertise different flavors of the product on their websites.
A 3-gram package of Smoke, a similar mixture of herbs, was sold for 58,520 rubels, half the price from a dealer. Jah Rush was on sale for 62,600 rubels.
A salesman at Uruchcha Lux told ERB that a 15,000 packet supply sold within one working day.
An official with the Minsk anti-trafficking police said that Spice and similar herb mixtures are legal in Belarus because they are not listed as psychotropic substances. "A Spice dealer can face a fine of up to 350,000 rubels for illegal business activity. But this is not a problem for shuttle traders who invest $1,000 and get a $5,500 return. We are waiting for the drug to be included in the list of banned substances," the official said.
