The State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan revealed and suppressed the activities of the crypto-exchange Woody Exchange, which, according to intelligence services, served an international network for the sale of synthetic drugs. This was reported by the GKNB press service.
 

As part of the operation, an Uzbek citizen, born in 2000, was detained. According to the agency, he was involved in money laundering through cryptocurrency. He arrived in Bishkek in January 2025 to legalise the proceeds from drug sales through online shops that were part of the Princess Duri network. These sites operated in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia.
 

According to the GKNB, the detainee controlled the cashing and transfer of the proceeds to the organisers of the drug shops using a crypto-exchange registered in Kyrgyzstan. In order to document the scheme, committee officers conducted a ‘test purchase’ - the synthetic drug mephedrone was purchased through the shop ‘Princess Duri’ using Woody Exchange.
 

During the search, about a hundred bank cards, 18 phones and a laptop used in criminal activity were seized from the defendant. According to the SCNS estimates, up to $50,000 passed through the bank cards of the so-called ‘drops’ every day - the funds were immediately converted into cryptocurrency and sent to the scheme's supervisors. In total, according to preliminary data, about 240 million KGS passed through the exchanger.
 

The detainee was taken to the GKNB pre-trial detention centre. The investigation is continuing - law enforcers are identifying all participants of the scheme and other possible channels of financing of the transnational criminal network.