A St. Petersburg resident facing trial for buying drugs online has claimed that he followed instructions from a famous Russian media personality, the Fontanka news website reported Thursday.
A man, 28, was arrested in June in possession of 5 grams of polysynthetic psychoactive substances. Police subsequently opened a criminal case against him for drug possession, Fontanka reported.
Since 2011, Russian police dealing with cases of drug possession have asked offenders to name and identify their drug dealers, according to Fontanka.
While the man declined to name the supplier of the drugs, he said that shortly before his arrest he had listened to a program on the Vesti FM state radio station, headed by prominent presenter Vladimir Solovyov, which discussed the relative ease of obtaining illegal drugs.
“Getting drugs in an hour? It’s easy!” Solovyov said on the radio program.
According to the accused, the program was “incredibly informative.” He had used the information to purchase drugs online, Fontanka reported.
The program aired on June 1 and provided detailed information on how to purchase drugs online, the types of drugs, websites and communities which deal in drugs, delivery methods and ways for dealers and buyers to communicate anonymously.
The man claimed to have missed Solovyov’s comments about drug users being “lowlifes” and how the death penalty should be reintroduced to punish them.
“The dealers, I would have them shot, no question — the buyers too,” Solovyov said.
The defense lawyer in the case asked that prosecutors classify the radio program as a mitigating circumstance as the instructions aired during the program had led the accused to test the methods mentioned.
The defense's request was subsequently rejected, Fontanka reported.
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