Yuri Petukhov, the former first deputy governor of the Novosibirsk region, has been arrested on drug charges, the Russian business daily Kommersant reported, citing sources.
Federal Security Service officers detained Petukhov in Moscow, where he had been on a work trip. Sources told the outlet he was found with a “small quantity” of drugs he had allegedly purchased for personal use, and that “several more packets of drugs were found in his hotel room.”
Petukhov reportedly admitted guilt. The Lefortovsky District Court ordered him held in pretrial detention center No. 7, “Kapotnaya.” The exact date of the arrest was not specified.
According to Kommersant, Petukhov was still serving as deputy governor at the time of his detention. On June 8, Novosibirsk Governor Andrei Travnikov announced Petukhov’s dismissal.
Yuri Petukhov was appointed first deputy governor in 2015. He was responsible for decisions in the areas of state governance and personnel policy, as well as election campaigns. Kommersant described him as the chief overseer of domestic policy in the Novosibirsk region.
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