In the Odesa region, law enforcement officers exposed a group that organized a large-scale scheme of illegally transporting men across the border.
This was reported by the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
The scheme was organized in May this year by a resident of Odesa region. He looked for men who wanted to leave Ukraine illegally and negotiated payment with them. Those willing were taken to the state border, which they then crossed on foot.
The law enforcement officer advised drivers how to bypass roadblocks on the way to the border.
On June 21, the SBI employees documented an attempt to smuggle about 100 people across the border. They stopped four minibuses with 47 people, and the other 53 did not have time to reach the "collection point".
For their services, the dealers charged from $5,000 to $18,500 per person, depending on the clientʼs financial capabilities.
"Only on this batch of dodgers, the dealers expected to earn about a million dollars," says the SBI.
The members of the group were detained, they were informed of the suspicion of organizing the illegal transportation of people across the state border (Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The organizer and the law enforcement officer involved in the scheme were given preventive measures in the form of 60-day detention with the right to post bail: UAH 13.6 million for the organizer, UAH 3 million for the law enforcement officer.
The sanction of the article provides imprisonment for up to 9 years. All detainees over the age of 25 were issued protocols and taken to the district territorial recruit center (DTRC).
The investigation continues, a full circle of all those involved in the embezzlement is being established.