Number of drug-related crimes in Russia down by 40% in Q1 2026 compared to 2025

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. The number of drug-related crimes in the first quarter of 2026 decreased by 40% compared to the same period last year, the press service of the Russian Security Council said. "The analysis of key indices of anti-drug activities in the first quarter of 2026 indicates that the number of registered drug-related crimes decreased by 40.1% compared to the same period last year and their share in the overall structure of crimes shrank from 12.8% to 9.2%," it said. According to the Security Council, the main reason for the decrease in drug-related crimes was a change in law enforcement practices that had been in place since mid-2024, when each act of placing drugs in hidden caches was considered as a separate crime. "In line with the resolution of the Presidium of the Russian Supreme Court of December 22, 2025, dropping is now qualified as a single lasting crime. Such an approach has led to the considerable decrease (by 68.4%) in the number of additional episodes of illegal drug trafficking," it said. "In the meantime, the number of those brought to responsibility for illegal drug sales went up by 3%, which, along with the slight (+1.5%) growth in the exposed large-scale drug-related crimes, indicates that law enforcement bodies are focusing their efforts on eliminating the largest drug distribution channels."