MOSCOW, June 25 (RAPSI) - The Moscow City Court has sentenced a group of criminals who smuggled drugs from Bolivia to Russia to long prison sentences ranging from 11.5 to 17 years, the court's press service told RAPSI.

"They will serve their sentences in high security prisons," the court said.

The group includes Veselin Gornenski, the alleged mastermind behind the crime who received the longest sentence, or 17 years, and three couriers who have been sentenced to 11.5 years, 12 years and 13 years, respectively.

According to the investigators, Gornenski created a group for smuggling drugs from Bolivia to Russia in July 2012. They assume that he had a co-conspirator in Santa Cruz who bought drugs upon Gornenski's request. 

The drugs were packed in "multilayered capsules made of polymeric materials and rubber," which the couriers, also known as "mules," carried inside their bodies.