UDC: 343.575:796.093.1(100)
BBC: Х408.132.11:Ч549.1
Sidorov A.V., Tasakov S.V.
Drug dealers and sports: what do they have in common? Problems of drug crime latency during periods of international sports competitions and doping criminalization
Keywords: narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, drug trafficking, conspiracy, international sports competitions, athletes, doping
International sports competitions are places of attraction for a large number of people from all over the world, and therefore, they are a great opportunity for drug traffickers to imperceptibly expand the sales market and increase revenue. The flow of tourists and the hype around themed paraphernalia are most often used by criminal communities in order to make illegal transactions unnoticed by law enforcement agencies. However, early preparation for such events, including preventive inspections of competitors/fans/tourists, has repeatedly demonstrated effectiveness in combating the increase in drug crimes during international competitions. The purpose of the study is to analyze the factors contributing to committing crimes in sports and to develop proposals to improve the effectiveness of prevention and increase the detection rates of such crimes. Research objectives: to identify current trends in the development of sports and the causes of crimes committed by both athletes and their environment: coaches, sponsors, fans; to assess the current state of the Russian criminal legislation in the field of sports and streamline regulations governing public relations in sports; to identify differences in the objects of attacks and the level of public danger in the field of sports. Materials and methods. The main sources of the study were international acts and internal acts of the Russian Federation on countering drug crimes and the spread/use of doping. In addition, official reports and reports from both international organizations, including the United Nations, WADA, and Russian authorized bodies/institutions, mainly the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and RUSADA Russian Anti-Doping Agency, served as the basis for determining the actual scale of drug crimes in the world. The study used both general scientific and specialized methods, including comparative law, formal law, analytical, statistical ones. Results. According to the results of statistical data analysis, an increase in the number of drug crimes in the field of sports has been revealed. The list of the most common ways to circumvent legislation and move drugs from one country to another under various covers on the eve of international sports competitions is outlined. The statistics of criminal prosecution under the anti-doping articles of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are analyzed. Ineffectiveness of the anti-doping methodology by increasing penalties for athletes, including through criminalization of this act, as well as lack of evidence of the need to criminalize doping in isolated cases of prosecution under Articles 230.1, 230.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, was revealed. Based on the study of the position of the global sports community on responsibility distribution for monitoring the use of doping, potent drugs, and drugs by athletes, proposals have been developed to amend the administrative and criminal legislation of the Russian Federation, namely, decriminalization of inducement and the use of substances and (or) methods not related to strong and poisonous substances (except for the cases provided for in Parts 2 and 3 of Articles 230.1, 230.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation); amendments to Article 6.18 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation by adding a new clause – responsibility for inciting and using substances and (or) methods not related to strong-effective and toxic substances (with the exception of cases stipulated in Parts 2 and 3 of Articles 230.1, 230.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) in the form of an administrative fine and an administrative ban on visiting venues of official sports competitions on the days of their holding. Conclusions. The most effective way to reduce latency of drug trafficking crimes under the guise of sports competitions is to strengthen the work of preliminary investigation authorities, including by providing them with advanced technologies by the state and providing access to any necessary information about the participants of the competitions and all those present at them. Creation of a new highly specialized organization, which would involve the countries of the former Soviet Union, could help to increase the detection of drug crimes in the field of sports.
References
- Avstraliiskogo vsadnika otstranili ot Olimpiady posle obnaruzhenija kokaina v doping-probe [An Australian equestrian was suspended from the Olympics after cocaine was found in a doping sample.]. Available at: https://tass.ru/sport/11948313?ysclid=m8eww2j93y280915821 (Accessed Date: 2025. Mar. 11).
- Argentinskie narkotorgovtsy perevozili kokain v Kubkakh mira po futbolu [Argentine drug traffickers transported cocaine in the Soccer World Cups]. Available at: https://sport24.ru/news/football/2018-06-24-argentinskiye-narkotorgovtsy-perevozili-kokain-v-kubkakh-mira-po-futbolu (Accessed Date: 2025, March 11).
- General’nyi direktor VADA: «Organizovannaya prestupnost’ – glavnaya ugroza dlya mi-rovogo sporta» [Director General of WADA: «Organized crime is the main threat to world sport»]. Available at: https://olympic.ru/news/news/generalniy-direktor-vada-organizovannaia-prestupnost-glavnaia-ugroza-dlia-mirovogo/?ysclid=m8t8w1fmz4364708807 (Accessed Date: 2025, March 2).
- Dannye o naznachennom nakazanii po stat’yam UK [Information about the imposed punishment under the articles of the Criminal Code]. Available at: https://stat.xn—-7sbqk8achja.xn--p1ai/stats/ug/t/14/s/17?ysclid=m8eorpp06y614135453 (Accessed Date: 2025, March 10).
- Kazarinova L.V., Petrov S.I. Pravovye i psihologo-pedagogicheskie aspekty obespecheniya bezopasnosti sportivno-fizkul’turnoj dejatel’nosti cherez formirovanie antidopingovogo obrazovaniya molodezhi [Legal, psychological and pedagogical aspects of ensuring the safety of sports and physical education activities through the formation of anti-doping education for young people]. In: Innovatscionnye tehnologii sisteme sportivnoi podgotovki, massovoi fizicheskoi kul’tury i sporta: materialy Vseros. nauch. praktich. konf. s mezhdunar. uchastiem [Proc. of Sci. Conf. «Innovative technologies in the system of sports training, mass physical culture and sports»]. St. Petersburg, 2019, pp. 283–287.
- Kolumbiitsy propitali kokainom maiki sbornoi [The Colombians soaked the national team’s jerseys with cocaine]. Available at: https://www.soccer.ru/news/1054807 (Accessed Date: 2025, March 12).
- Morozov S., Kukin Yu. Narkodilery iz Yuzhnoi Ameriki veli peregovory o postavkakh kokaina v Rossiyu vo vremya ChM-2018. V stranu oni popali po Fan ID [Drug dealers from South America negotiated the supply of cocaine to Russia during the 2018 World Cup. They entered the country using their Fan ID]. Available at: https://rtvi.com/news/narkodilery-iz-yuzhnoj-ameriki-veli-peregovory-o-postavkah-kokaina-v-rossiyu-vo-vremya-chm-2018-v-stranu-oni-popali-po-fan-id/?ysclid=m8eerij29169443907 (Accessed Date: 2025, March 7).
- Nazarenko L.D., Kuznecova Z.M., Meshheryakova A.V. Koncepciya ukrepleniya nravstvennykh osnov sporta, ne sovmestimykh s dopingom [The concept of strengthening the moral foundations of sports incompatible with doping]. Pedagogiko-psihologicheskie i mediko-biologicheskie problemy fizicheskoj kul’tury i sporta, 2018, no. 6. pp. 123–127.
- Pyatnickaya A. VADA smyagchit nakazanie sportsmenov za kokain [WADA to mitigate punishment of athletes for cocaine]. Available at: https://www.kp.ru/online/news/3671386/?ysclid=m8ewynmggf419546985 (Accessed Date: 2025, March 12).
- Sokolov A. Amerikantsy shokirovany: za marihuanu mogut otstranit’ ot Olimpiady [Americans are shocked: they can be suspended from the Olympics for marijuana]. Available at: https://regnum.ru/article/3312004?ysclid=m8eotg0c4d790583268 (Accessed Date: 2025, March 15).
- Sintin A.V. Substantsii i metodi, zapreshchennie dlya ispolzovaniya v sporte: predmet ili sredstva soversheniya prestuplenii? [Substances and methods prohibited for use in sports: object or means of committing crimes?]. Sibirskoe yuridicheskoe obozrenie, 2022, no. 2, pp. 142–155.
- Fedorov A.V. Ugolovnaja otvetstvennost’ za sklonenie k ispol’zovaniju dopinga [Criminal liability for inducing the use of doping]. Rossiiskii sledovatel’, 2017, no. 11, pp. 90–97.
- WADA issues Anti-Doping Rule Violations Report for 2020. Available at: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/anti-doping-stats/anti-doping-rule-violations-adrvs-report (Accessed Date: 2025, March 5).
- World Anti-Doping Code. Available at: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/resources/world-anti-doping-code-and-international-standards/world-anti-doping-code (Accessed Date: 2025, March 9).
About authors
- Sidorov Andrey V.
- Post-Graduate Student, Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary; Attorney-at-Law, Moscow Bar Association «SED LEX», Russia, Moscow (Sidorov.msk.advokat@yandex.ru; )
- Tasakov Sergey V.
- Doctor of Law Sciences, Professor, Vice-Rector for General Affairs, Head of the Department of Criminal Law Disciplines, Chuvash State University, Russia, Cheboksary (tasakov@mail.ru; )
Article link
Sidorov A.V., Tasakov S.V. Drug dealers and sports: what do they have in common? Problems of drug crime latency during periods of international sports competitions and doping criminalization [Electronic resource] // Oeconomia et Jus. – 2025. – №2. P. 110-123. – URL: https://oecomia-et-jus.ru/en/single/2025/2/10/. DOI: 10.47026/2499-9636-2025-2-110-123.
