Military serviceman convicted for illegal acquisition and possession of a psychotropic substance

The Khmelnytskyi City District Court of Khmelnytskyi region considered a criminal case against a military serviceman accused of illegal acquisition, transportation, and possession without intent to sell of a particularly dangerous psychotropic substance PVP in especially large quantities, qualified under Part 3 of Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Essence of case No. 686/13477/26

The court established that the accused, acting at an unspecified place and time but no later than March 30, 2026, contrary to the requirements of Articles 2, 7, 12, 25, and 27 of the Law of Ukraine "On Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors," Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Resolution No. 770 dated May 6, 2000 "On Approval of the List of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Precursors" (Table 1, List No. 2), as well as the Order of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine No. 188 dated August 1, 2000, illegally acquired, without intent to sell, a particularly dangerous psychotropic substance PVP, the circulation of which is prohibited in Ukraine.

The total mass of the seized psychotropic substance was 59.67699 grams, which according to the legislation is an especially large amount.

After the illegal acquisition, the accused transported the psychotropic substance by route bus from Kamianets-Podilskyi to Khmelnytskyi and kept it with him until it was discovered by police officers. On March 30, 2026, at 11:07 AM, at 191 km + 500 m of the H-03 Zhytomyr – Chernivtsi highway, near the Khmelnytskyi Regional War Veterans Hospital of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Council, law enforcement officers found and seized the psychotropic substance.

During the court hearing, the accused fully admitted his guilt and confirmed all the circumstances of the criminal offense stated in the indictment.

Due to the full admission of guilt and with the consent of the participants in the criminal proceedings, the court, guided by Part 3 of Article 349 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, deemed it unnecessary to examine other evidence in the case.

Conclusions and court decision

The court concluded that the guilt of the accused was fully proven, and his actions were correctly qualified under Part 3 of Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine as illegal acquisition, transportation, and possession of a psychotropic substance without intent to sell, if the subject of such actions was a psychotropic substance in especially large quantities.

When imposing the sentence, the court took into account the severity of the committed criminal offense, information about the accused, and mitigating circumstances. The court established that the accused had no previous convictions, is a military serviceman and combatant, has injuries, suffers from illness, and is positively characterized at his place of residence and service, although he committed a serious crime.

The court recognized sincere remorse and active assistance in solving the criminal offense as mitigating circumstances.

Considering the above circumstances, the court decided to impose a sentence within the sanction of Part 3 of Article 309 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in the form of five years of imprisonment. At the same time, applying the provisions of Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the court released the convicted person from serving the imposed sentence with probation, setting a probation period of three years.

Based on Article 76 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the convicted person was obliged to periodically appear for registration to the authorized probation authority and notify this authority about changes in place of residence, work, or study.

The court also credited the time spent in custody from March 30 to April 1, 2026, towards the sentence.

Furthermore, according to Part 2 of Article 124 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the court recovered from the convicted person in favor of the state the documented procedural costs for engaging an expert in the amount of 5,348.40 UAH.

The verdict also resolved the fate of physical evidence. The psychotropic substance and other physical evidence stored at the Khmelnytskyi District Police Department according to the specified receipts were ordered to be destroyed; the mobile phone, bank cards, and money were to be returned to the convicted person; other physical evidence was to remain with the criminal case materials. At the same time, the court lifted the seizure imposed on the physical evidence by the ruling of the investigating judge of the Khmelnytskyi City District Court dated March 31, 2026.

The court noted that the verdict may be appealed to the Khmelnytskyi Court of Appeal through the Khmelnytskyi City District Court within thirty days from the date of its announcement.

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