Prosecutor General Kravchenko reported the exposure of a deputy and a police officer in a scheme of escapes abroad with a profit of over $700 thousand
In Bukovina, an organized group was exposed that established illegal smuggling of men across the state border to Romania. According to the investigation, ten people were involved in the scheme, including a deputy of the Irpin City Council and a police officer of the Chernivtsi region. This was reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
The investigation established that the group members organized a full cycle of illegal departure abroad: they transported "clients" across Ukraine, provided them with temporary accommodation in apartments and hotels, formed groups, and smuggled them outside official checkpoints. For coordination, they used GPS navigation, radios, thermal imagers, drones, and other technical means.
According to preliminary data, at least ten people were illegally smuggled across the border each month. Since December last year, about 60 men have left Ukraine this way. The estimated income of the organizers exceeded 700 thousand US dollars.
According to the investigation, the deputy was engaged in transporting men and used his status to avoid unnecessary attention during inspections, while the police officer coordinated routes through checkpoints.
As part of the investigation, law enforcement officers conducted 27 searches in Chernivtsi Region and Kyiv. Drones, GPS trackers, thermal imagers, surveillance cameras, 58 mobile phones, nine radios, computer equipment, documents, weapons, and cash totaling over 2.5 million hryvnias in various currencies were seized.
All ten participants in the scheme were detained. They were notified of suspicion for illegal smuggling of persons across the state border of Ukraine and obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during a special period.
The court has already chosen preventive measures for the suspects. If found guilty, they face up to nine years in prison with confiscation of property.
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