Fugitive drug trafficker caught after strolling with ‘dead dolphin’

A Russian man who was being sought on drug trafficking charges, ended up in custody after starring in a bizarre viral video

Russian police have apprehended a 40-year-old man who was on authorities’ wanted list, suspected of trafficking drugs in exceptionally large quantities, after he was spotted on a CCTV camera casually carrying around a dead marine mammal around the resort city of Sochi.

The bizarre video circulating online shows the man carrying his ‘catch’ into his apartment. Local police said on Thursday when they examined the footage, identifying the man as a fugitive from Moscow Region who is sought on the drug-trafficking charges.

While the police identified the animal as a “dead dolphin,” available footage suggests it was actually a harbor porpoise, a small whale species related more to belugas and narwhals than to true dolphins.

The animal was already dead when the suspect found it on the beach, as the police noted, without elaborating on why the man decided to snatch the dead creature in the first place.

The man was taken into custody at his residence in the beachside town of Adler, located to the south of Sochi. The suspect will shortly be handed over to the authorities of Moscow Region to face charges of trafficking drugs in exceptionally large quantities. If found guilty, the man faces from 15 to 20 years behind bars.