Olympic medalist Varganova, previously detained on drug charges and released on bail, disappears in India

1980 Olympic swimming silver medalist Svetlana Varganova, arrested last year in India on drug charges, has disappeared after being released on bail, the Regnum news agency reports.

In April last year, it became known that Varganova was arrested in the state of Goa on suspicion of distributing prohibited substances. A former Russian police officer and a local resident were also arrested. Drugs and cash in different currencies were confiscated from them.

According to the source, representatives of the drug cartel paid the required amount for the former athlete and released her during the investigation. After that, she did not contact her relatives or the Russian consulate. According to the Russian representation in India, the athlete did not stay in prison for a single day.

— Svetlana Varganova has not contacted us and does not seem to want to. We don’t know what happens to him now. We do not know who his lawyer or defender is. The Indian side does not tell us how the investigation into his case is going. And we can’t get involved in this, because apparently she doesn’t want to cooperate with us. As long as the investigation is ongoing, she will not be able to leave the country and this could last for a very long time. It is therefore very likely that it is in India. But we do not have precise information; we don’t know if she returned to Russia or not. We’re just guessing. As per the law, as long as she is out on bail, she will not be released from India, said a representative of the Russian Consulate General in Mumbai.

A source familiar with the matter noted that Varganova deleted social networks and disappeared, “and her boss, so to speak, Andrei D., is now in prison for organizing drug trafficking.”

At the 1980 Games, Varganova won silver in the 200 meter breaststroke.

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