Kirill Smurov, acting head of the Russian Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate for Drug Trafficking Control, said Telegram does not cooperate with Russian police in the fight against drugs.
Speaking at a presidium meeting of the Public Council under the Russian Interior Ministry, Smurov said Telegram and the dark web are being used to lure teenagers into drug-related crimes.
Smurov said Russian police had offered to cooperate with Telegram’s management but had received no response. He said the platform does not provide data to police. “Telegram does not respond to anything and does not share information,” Smurov said.

Smurov noted that internet platforms have the authority to block groups that disseminate drug-related information, adding that such groups can be blocked by the platforms.
Smurov also said Russian law enforcement agencies do not have tools comparable to those available to the intelligence services of the United States and France to obtain access codes from Telegram founder Pavel Durov. He claimed that Durov had adopted an anti-Russia stance.