Police drug division chief in Moscow suburb arrested for drug possession and falsifying a criminal case

Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Ponkratov, who leads the police anti-narcotics division in Ramensky, a suburb of Moscow, has been arrested on charges of falsifying a criminal case, possessing drugs, and overstretching his authority, Kommersant reported.

The officer was taken under guard after being questioned by the Moscow Region Investigative Committee in a case concerning three of his former subordinates. Investigators claim that, in February 2017, the officers planted 0.91 grams of amphetamines on a Ramensky resident named Alexander Nesterenko and accused him of drug distribution. Ponkratov was previously a witness in the case, but two of his subordinates have said he had an organizing role.