KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine has detained an Israeli man who it says heads a massive global drug trafficking network that markets illegal drugs through the internet, the country’s security service said on Tuesday.

The SBU security service did not name the man, in keeping with its normal practice, but said Israeli police had taken part in the operation in Kiev on Tuesday.

The man was detained “on the basis of a petition for international assistance” and Ukraine was preparing to extradite him to Israel, the SBU said in a statement.

The detained man created an internet channel for marketing drugs and psychotropic substances in 2017 and within a few years the network extended to South and North America, the European Union, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, the statement said.

The syndicate consisted of more than 13,000 people, including smugglers, dealers, group administrators of social networks, it added.