Ecuador Extradites Russian National Wanted on Drug Charges

Ecuador law enforcement agencies handed over the Russian citizen Vadim Vasilenko to the Russian police.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ecuador handed over the Russian citizen, who has been on the international wanted list since 2011 over drug charges, to Russian law enforcement agencies, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement on Saturday.

Russia requested Vasilenko’s extradition in August last year, after his whereabouts in the Latin American country were determined.

“On April 29, 2016, at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the competent authorities of the Republic of Ecuador extradited Russian citizen Vadim Vasilenko to Russia,” the statement said.

According to the statement, Vasilenko is set to arrive in Moscow accompanied by a special convoy of Russian law enforcement personnel.

Vasilenko is accused of attempted illegal sale of drugs on a large scale, illegal acquisition and storage of narcotic substances on a large scale and forgery of a document.

In September 2008, he fled from prosecution in Russia and was put on the federal wanted list. Since April 2011, Vasilenko has been on the international wanted list.