Estonian court hands drug dealer Kiur Pohlak over 11 years in prison
Viru County Court ruled on September 30 in a case involving large-scale drug trafficking, theft and illegal weapons handling, sentencing Kiur Pohlak to nine years, which combined with a prior sentence totals more than 11 years behind bars.
On September 30, Viru County Court issued its ruling in a criminal case concerning trafficking of large drug shipments, theft and illegal handling of weapons. The harshest sentence went to Kiur Pohlak, who received nine years of imprisonment for this case — combined with a previous sentence, his total term now exceeds 11 years.
Prosecutors alleged that Pohlak had been trafficking large quantities of drugs from summer 2024 until his arrest in spring 2025. The court, however, did not fully agree with the prosecution's case, according to a report by "Aktuaalne Kaamera".
Marge Voogma, district prosecutor at the Viru District Prosecutor's Office, said she was satisfied with the ruling, even though she had requested a 12-year sentence for Pohlak. The prosecution had also sought actual prison terms for Andrei Prihodko and Riho Laanemets, which the court granted. For Gert Ait and Hemeri Neemsalu, by contrast, the prosecutor had requested suspended sentences since they had no prior active convictions — the court agreed with this too, though it imposed somewhat lighter penalties than requested.
Drugs brought in from Latvia
According to the prosecutor, fairly large volumes of drugs are brought into Estonia from Latvia using various methods. Smaller shipments are sent by mail, while larger quantities are transported in person. A system of hidden caches is also widely used.
Pohlak himself explained that ordering drugs has become fairly straightforward, working almost like an online shop: a buyer places an order, transfers the money, and then either retrieves the drugs from a hidden cache or travels to Latvia to pick them up. This was exactly how Pohlak operated in his most recent transactions. Voogma noted that this has made such activity quite easy to carry out, which is why authorities are especially pleased to have seized such a large shipment and prevented its further distribution.
The court's ruling has not yet entered into force and can be appealed to Tartu Circuit Court within 30 days.
