The participants in Operation “Carthage” discussed an attack on the founder of “Bihus.Info” Denys Bihus. In particular, they wanted to douse him with acid.
This is stated in the investigation of NABU and the SAPO.
This is because one of the areas of activity of the criminal organization was the business of the “U420” chain of stores, which was investigated in March by “Bihus.Info” journalists. According to the investigation, the stores were owned by the head of the Russian drug cartel "Khimprom" with the pseudonym "Mexican".
The co-organizer of the criminal organization under the pseudonym "Criminal" had a share in this business and received a percentage of its turnover every month.
The members of the criminal organization discussed how to stop the investigation of journalists. Among the options were bribing media workers, threats, and even attacks. In particular, one of the defendants in NABU and SAPO recordings suggests pouring acid on Bihusʼ face so that the journalist becomes "unpresentable".
The defendants also talked about the possibility of luring Bigus abroad under the pretext of a fictitious exhibition — to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, or Cambodia.
One of the members of the criminal group noted that it would be better not to touch Bihus, as this could cause a significant resonance. In addition, the suspects discussed the possibility of attacking blogger Lachen and representatives of the “PROKyiv” organization.
After the publication of the “Bihus.Info” investigation, public organizations became interested in the networkʼs activities. Members of the criminal organization discussed attacks on their representatives as well. In particular, they talked about a man who was in Russian captivity in Mariupol and suggested pouring acid on him or beating him with hammers.
A new part of Operation “Carthage”
As part of Operation Carthage, on November 4, NABU and SAPO exposed a new criminal organization that was engaged in fraudulent call centers, drug distribution, abducting and beating people, as well as other crimes.
According to NABU and SAPO, the organizationʼs members coordinated the work of at least 52 call centers, where approximately 2 700 people worked. To ensure that the offices could operate smoothly, their owners paid law enforcement officers $7 000 per month from each call center.
In parallel with the announcement of a new investigation by NABU and SAPO, SBU reported searches of its employees. At the same time, NABU stated that a high-ranking SBU official threatened the Bureau detectives with a weapon during the investigative actions.
His name was not specified, but Babelʼs sources claimed that it was the first deputy head of the SBU Department for the Protection of National Statehood, Major General Serhiy Duka.
Subsequently, law enforcement sources told Babel that NABU officers detained the first deputy head of the SBU Department for the Protection of National Statehood Serhiy Duka.
Also among the detainees are the following: Volodymyr Tsenov, First Deputy Head of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police (who is currently acting as its head); Oleksandr Demyanchuk, Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Main Police Department in the Kyiv region; Oleksandr Rybalko.
The case materials suggest that the latter may be involved in the activities of the Russian drug cartel "Khimprom", which is featured in the case.
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