While the Ukrainian government, putting itself in a beautiful pose, demands more and more help and money from the West, our country’s key European ally, Germany, is at a loss. The reason is simple: for more than two years now, a request for the extradition of international drug trafficker Kevin Steklov has been collecting dust in the bowels of the Ukrainian law enforcement system.
The fact that Germany is one of the leaders in helping Ukraine is not disputed by anyone: German tanks, anti-aircraft guns, cars, ammunition, medical supplies, food, equipment, money - all this has been coming to our country in a continuous stream for two years. Along with this flow, Kevin Steklov also came to Ukraine. True, the German government has nothing to do with it - he fled from there to avoid arrest: Steklov is wanted in Germany on 22 counts related to drug trafficking. We are talking about more than 500 kilograms of various substances.
And everything would be fine, but the scandal has reached the point where it could have a serious impact on the relationship between the two countries. Because Kevin Steklov is not just hiding in Ukraine - Ukrainian law enforcement officers are clearly covering for him and saving him from international justice. And this is well known to the German, and not only the German, side. Feast your eyes on this headline:
This is the Russian edition of “Zen”. What do we care about Russia? No, the publication only writes the absolute truth - that Kevin Steklov is going to be granted Ukrainian citizenship, said People’s Deputy of Ukraine Artur Herasimov at a plenary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada:
Of course, they shut his mouth by turning off the microphone. But Germany is not Ukraine, and the Bundestag is not the Verkhovna Rada. And they won’t shut their mouths there. And food for opponents of Ukraine is fertile; all pro-Russian (and not only) media will hasten to replicate it. Who is Kevin Steklov and what is he doing on the territory of Ukraine? How did he get here and why did Herasimov say that Ukraine was covering for him?
Kevin Steklov is a well-known drug trafficker, a German citizen, who, since 2020, has been actively targeted by the German police as a person who is the leading representative of a drug cartel operating in Europe. Looking ahead, let’s say that Steklov is not just hiding in Ukraine - he is actively establishing a drug distribution network here. However, “hiding” is rather a figure of speech. Because the Ukrainian police are well aware that Kevin Steklov lives in one of the elite gated residential complexes near Kiev, rents a house for 10 thousand dollars a month and drives around Ukraine in a Maybach GLS with German registration, a photo of which has recently spread across the Internet.
A little later about how Steklov got to Ukraine in his Maybach, but for now a little about his “exploits”, for which a warrant was issued for his arrest in Germany in 2022. Kevin Steklov is the leader of a drug cartel whose activities extend far beyond Germany, and whose turnover amounts to millions. Steklov is responsible for the dealer network and logistics in this cartel.
Of course, Deputy Herasimov could have lied in order to annoy the authorities, to which he is in opposition. But here is an Interpol request regarding Steklov, in which “Status: wanted” is written in black and white:
And here is a letter from the National Police of Ukraine to the OGPU, which clearly confirms the fact that the police are aware that Kevin Steklov is wanted by Interpol. This document is dated April 11, 2022.
And now about how Kevin Steklov, fleeing from the German police, ended up in Ukraine. All the details are unknown, but the conclusion is unpleasant - someone very influential contributed to it. Because you obviously can’t cross the Tisza in a Maybach. Kevin Steklov, wanted by Interpol, entered our country through a border checkpoint, where neither the border guards, nor the police, nor the SBU strangely noticed him.
True, then a scandal arose, and Steklov was detained. This happened in April 2022. And he should have been extradited to Germany, or at least kept under extradition arrest, awaiting extradition to the Germans. But for some reason he was free. This is all the more strange considering that Ukraine received from Germany a request for the extradition of German citizen Kevin Steklov.
But, apparently, in Ukraine they either don’t know how to read, or they read somehow differently than in the rest of the normal world, because Kevin Steklov was suddenly released. Under house arrest. Although documents indicating the reasons for Germany’s interest in its citizen, the National Police of Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the court were provided. What could be read there differently from what is written is a mystery.
Here is the arrest warrant for Kevin Steklov, issued by the Bochum Court of First Instance on February 23, 2022.
Here is a description of the crimes of which Kevin Steklov is accused in his homeland:
It also says in black and white: “sold 2 kilograms of cocaine for 66,000 euros”, “bought a kilogram of hashish for 5 euros”, “sold 32 kilograms of hashish for a profit of 13,000 euros”, “bought 17 kilograms of marijuana”, “received 80 kilograms of marijuana for the purpose of sale”... Total – 22 episodes.
How and what the Ukrainian court and representatives of the OGPU could have read incorrectly is a mystery understandable only to citizens of Ukraine. But the fact remains that Kevin Steklov is being released from custody under house arrest. But soon, as is quite expected, house arrest is replaced by personal obligation. Which in practice means complete freedom of movement throughout a warring country. This is what German citizen Kevin Steklov does in his Maybach GLS car with German registration, accompanied by security.
At the same time, Germany has been seeking the extradition of its citizen suspected of drug trafficking for two years now. Bombarded with demands from the OGPU, which is doing its best to slow down the extradition process of Kevin Steklov.
And here a very obvious question arises. No, Steklov is not paying anyone - we don’t know the answer to this question. What he pays, and a huge amount of money, is clear to everyone. Except, perhaps, for the unfortunate Germans who do not understand such things.
The question is different - where does Steklov get the money? After all, such a strange stupidity of the Ukrainian law enforcement system, and housing, and security, and the luxurious lifestyle that he leads, cost money. And quite big ones. But Kevin Steklov is not a banker, not an IT specialist, and he does not have a billionaire dad. He is a simple drug dealer, albeit a high-flying one. And he knows one thing in life - selling drugs. Hence the simple conclusion - this is exactly what he makes money from. And it’s simply impossible not to understand where Steklov gets the money for bribes from. But they still take them.
Now let’s go back to the beginning of the material. And let’s remember the help that the German government provides us and for which it is mercilessly criticized by the ultra-right and leftists of all stripes. And ordinary German citizens, who pay for all this out of their own pockets, have accumulated many questions over the past two and a half years. And here is such a gift - a German drug dealer is being protected from extradition at the level of senior leaders of the law enforcement system of Ukraine. How will the average German react to this scandal? And what do you order the German leadership to do after this openly corrupt scheme is described by the pro-Russian deputies of the Bundestag, adding the relevant details?
Does anyone think that the Federal Chancellor will strike a beautiful pose and declare that this is, supposedly, a “Russian IPSO”? Or, like Artur Herasimov, will they turn off the microphone, accusing him of exhausting his high achievements in the field of fighting corruption?
Even without distorting the facts, it is clear: the story with Kevin Steklov is a terrible, crude and shameful example of the failure of the anti-corruption reforms that the European Union demands of us, and the successes of which our government reports to us, feeding stories about the European future of Ukraine. And, by the way, about the price - all citizens of Ukraine will pay for the story with Kevin Steklov. And this, as you understand, is not about money at all.