“Not drugs, but car additives”: the husband of a famous food blogger secretly cooked methadone

As it became known to “MK”, four Latvian citizens – Vasiliys Dainega, his wife Emma Dukhova, brother Mikhails Deinega and acquaintance Ruslans Kirichenko in 2024 moved from Lavtia to Russia and created a drug laboratory in a private house in the village of Khvostovo near Moscow. Muscovite Nikolai Lukerin helped them in criminal activities, the operatives managed to expose the cookers in February 2025. After receiving information about the production of prohibited substances, they came to the household with an inspection and found in the construction of equipment for the manufacture of drugs and more than 38 kg of methadone left in the freezer. All five were opened a criminal case for illegal production of narcotic drugs on an especially large scale, which is considered by the Moscow court.

Prior to the story, 54-year-old Emma Dukhova had been blogging and posting videos of step-by-step recipes for Russian and Baltic dishes under the pseudonym “Grandma Emma.” Neither she nor the other defendants, most of whom are over 50 years old, have previously been prosecuted.

The meeting on Friday began with the interrogation of Jasmina Lukerina, the sister of Nikolai Lukerin. The woman spoke positively of the defendant. A great family man, a caring father and husband, ready to come to the aid of loved ones. It turned out that the sister did not know what Nicholas earned for a living. She could only say that for a while her brother was engaged in cryptocurrency.

Vasilijs Dainega, interviewed after the witness, admitted guilt in part and declared sincere and sincere remorse. But the man did not agree with the role of his wife prescribed in the accusation. According to him, in June 2023, 10 months before his arrival in Russia, he became a debtor to people who threatened the lives and health of him and his loved ones.

- I was forced to take a loan of 35 thousand euros from a usurer living in Riga, but could not repay the debt in time, after which I was subjected to severe pressure, explained the defendant. My sons were met in front of the house by three guerrillas and with the words “Dad said hello” beat them.

Dainega said that he was extremely intimidated, most feared for his family. Then he was offered to take part in the manufacture of drugs in Russia to pay off the debt. The lender assured that the entire organization takes over. Dainega was required to live in a house where he would make drugs and was not suspicious of his neighbors. The "Wisher" undertook to issue 6 thousand euros for three months, which included about 110 thousand rubles for renting a cottage, and the rest of the money Dainega could spend on accommodation.

- I had no choice. I couldn't tell Emma I was going to Russia to make drugs. She would never let me do that kind of thing, so I told her shit. He said that I was offered a job making car oil additives in Russia and convinced her that it was necessary to pay off my debts. My wife was deceived and misled by me. I kept the truth from her. She did not know and did not know that the house in the village of Hvostovo is made a drug, not a car additive. It is my fault that my wife and my brother are here.

His wife at this time was sitting next to him in the “aquarium” and listening to her husband, wiping tears with a scarf.

Before leaving for Russia at the end of April 2024, Dainega met Ruslans Kirichenko at a shopping center. The men knew each other through their parents. Dainega asked Kirichenko to help with the registration of the car in Russia, and he gave the phone number of Nikolai Lukerin. In mid-May, Dainega and his wife came to Russia and rented a cottage in Khvostovo. He found the Chevrolet Niva on the website and asked Nikolai to issue documents on the registration of the vehicle, which were handed over to him by the courier. His “employer” paid for the car.

In August, brother Mikhails came to Dainega, according to the accused, “to resolve family issues in Moscow and reunite with his wife, with whom he was separated for a long time.”.

One evening, Emma cooked a dinner for the men to talk about the additives, but it seems that Michaels began to suspect something. The brothers went out to the gazebo to smoke and Michaels said, “I can see something is wrong with you.”.

- I told him what I was in and I said, "Mish, you should probably get ready and get out of here to the hotel." And he said he wasn't going anywhere.

At the end of August, Dainega received a call from a loan shark and said he had sent a gift. The delivery came, and there were canisters, hoods, pipes and other equipment. At that time it was time to renew the visas, and Dainega and his wife left for Riga. There, the organizer of the illegal business gave Dainega money and a notebook with schemes, which clearly described how to assemble equipment and make methadone. He said, "Come and get started." “How long can this go on?” asked Dainega. “We’ll make a couple of calls, and then maybe we’ll close this topic,” he said.

Arriving back in Russia, Dainega set to work. After more than a week, he was unable to make the drug.

- I tried to mix, but nothing came of it. I'm zero in this case. Put it all in one barrel, put it in a chicken coop and put it there. It was still there, even after we were arrested. The day suffered, then called the usurer and admitted that nothing worked. Threats poured in. “Whatever you want, whatever you ruin is in place.”.

The accused called Ruslans, who was in Moscow, and asked him for help. Dainega said he had to get something and gave him a list of chemicals. Ruslans warned that this would require investment, but reassured that the issue is resolved. After that, Dainega called the “employer” and reported that he had found a person who would get everything. Then the customer began to work directly with Ruslans. Three times the latter gave Dainega canisters and boxes of chemicals. Nikolai came to the program together with Ruslans. Vasiliys noted that he did not tell Ruslans about what he needed the chemicals for, and he did not ask unnecessary questions.

- In February, I tried making drugs again. I did it for a week, then I put it in the oven. At the time of our arrest, this substance was in a drying cabinet. I can't even tell if it worked out or not. The equipment for production was in the guest house, I forbade my wife to go there and get close. There was nothing to do, the defendant explained.

After Vasilijs Dainega, the court heard his wife, Emma Dukhova, a thin, gray-haired woman who stood up and approached the microphone, leaning against a stick. She said that she was born in Riga, where she lived all her life. Got a high school education. According to Dukhova, her father was an honored artist and veteran of the Great Patriotic War, and her mother was a dancer. After school, she married Vasilijs Dainega, with whom two sons were born. The woman worked as a nail builder in a beauty salon, but left her job due to illness and since then has only been engaged in housekeeping. In 2012 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The disease did not progress because she was taking expensive drugs. In 2024, she learned from her husband that he had been offered a job in Russia related to car oils.

- I've never broken the law. I did not even have a fine for speeding or not paying for parking, – the woman went sobbing, – I only learned about methadone in the pre-trial detention center that there is such a drug. My husband doesn't drink or even smoke. He raised his children and did not break the law. If I knew what he was going to do, I would never let him do it.

Emma Dukhova also explained that her health in the pre-trial detention center has deteriorated significantly.

- My illness is not compatible with stress. Now I'm struggling, and I need a stick. I lost my voice, my teeth fell, I lost my sight and hearing, I lost 50 kg of weight, she said.

Dukhova added that in the house in the village of Khvostovo was engaged in the household, cared for roses and peonies in the yard and does not know what “synthesis” and “precursors” are, which the judge asked about, and in chemistry she had a “deuce” in school.

At the moment, the court has interviewed all the accused and will proceed to supplements at the next meeting.