Three out of ten people examined by police medics in prestigious Moscow nightclubs during recent raids were on drugs, Russia's federal drug control service said on Monday.
During a raid on Friday night, police seized considerable amounts of cocaine, hashish, marijuana and synthetic drugs in seven sites in downtown Moscow, frequented by the so-called "golden youth" and top executives, ranging in age from 20 to 30.
The club "We Are Family Disco Hotel" in Moscow's central Kitay-Gorod neighborhood turned out to be a drug den, selling cocaine, hashish and amphetamines, as well as offering sex with high-class prostitutes, the statement said.
Drug abuse has increased at an alarming rate across Russia in recent years.
There are some 550,000 registered drug addicts, mostly addicted to heroin, in Russia, but many believe the real figure to be as high as 2.5 million, accounting for almost 2% of the Russian population.
According to official statistics, around 30,000 people die in Russia every year from heroin, around 90% of it coming from Afghanistan.
Last year, a total of 825 people died from drug overdoses in Moscow alone, almost twice as many as in 2008.
MOSCOW, March 22 (RIA Novosti)
