Putin Hints Grenades and Cocaine to Blame for Wagner Chief’s Plane Crash Death

Russian President Vladimir Putin has revealed his theory on what caused the death of Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin—grenades and cocaine.

Two months to the day after leading a failed mutiny against Putin, Prigozhin and 10 others–including two top Wagner members–were killed in a plane crash. Wagner blamed the crash on a missile strike, but U.S. officials have said it was likely due to an internal explosion. Prigozhin would be just the latest Putin foe to die under mysterious circumstances. 

Now, Putin has spoken out about what might have caused the incident. 

“The head of the Investigative Committee reported to me just the other day that fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the plane crash,” Putin said during a speech at a foreign policy think tank forum in Sochi.

“Unfortunately, no examination was carried out for the presence of alcohol or drugs in the blood of the victims,” he added. “From my point of view, such an examination should have been done.”

Putin went on to claim that five kilograms of cocaine and 10 billion rubles ($100 million) was discovered at a Wagner office in St Petersburg. 

The Wagner Group rebellion in June was one of the most significant challenges to President Putin's rule since he rose to power in 1999.

Prigozhin was sent into exile in Belarus after his 24-hour mutiny fizzled out, but Western officials told VICE News they could not believe that he would be allowed to live out his days in exile.

The Kremlin has long denied Russia was behind Prigozhin’s death.