Russia: Embassy coke bust shows our mission’s strength

MOSCOW – A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry is brushing off suggestions that the discovery of hundreds of kilograms (pounds) of cocaine in a school attached to Moscow’s Argentina embassy harms the mission’s reputation.

On Thursday, Argentina’s security minister announced that 389 kilograms (856 pounds) of the drug were discovered in luggage in 2016 and that agents swapped the cocaine for flour. The luggage was tracked in a 2017 shipment to Moscow and three people were arrested there, while two Russian-Argentine citizens were arrested Wednesday.

On Friday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized reports that the case “‘casts a shadow’ on our diplomatic mission. It’s exactly the opposite: the success of this operation was ensured by the effective actions of the Russian ambassador and diplomatic personnel.”