Organizer of $18,000 escape abroad scheme detained in Kyiv region

Employees of the Chop border detachment, together with law enforcement agencies, exposed an illegal organization that was engaged in the transportation of men of draft age across the Ukrainian border.

The organizer of the criminal activity was a 40-year-old man, a native of Lviv, who currently lives in the Kyiv region. Information about this came from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, the person involved created a stable scheme for the illegal departure of citizens to Slovakia. He independently looked for clients, conducted briefings and laid routes for their transportation across the border.

Four accomplices acted together with him, who were engaged in the transportation of “clients” at different stages of the route – from the capital to the border areas of the Transcarpathian region.

The organizer was detained in the Kyiv region. The operation was carried out by border guards together with the National Police and the special unit “Dozor”. The man was detained while receiving part of the payment in the amount of 3 thousand US dollars, with a total fee of 18 thousand dollars, the rest of the funds were to be paid after successful crossing the border.

It was also established that the group members were involved in two other attempts to illegally cross the border of conscripts, which were recorded in January and February of this year. Then the border guards detained two groups of offenders.

During the investigation, 10 searches were conducted in Kyiv, as well as in Kyiv, Lviv and Zakarpattia regions – at the places of residence of the suspects and in their cars. Among the seized items: 10 mobile phones, 7 cars, cash in various currencies, bank cards and office equipment.

The main organizer was detained in accordance with Article 615 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. He was informed of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code – “Illegal smuggling of persons across the state border”, and the court chose for him a preventive measure in the form of detention with the possibility of paying bail in the amount of 266,240 hryvnias.

The issue of declaring suspicions to other members of the criminal group is being resolved, the pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

The procedural management of the case is carried out by the Brovary District Prosecutor’s Office.

It is also reported that border guards of the Chop detachment detained a foreigner who tried to illegally cross the border from Ukraine to Slovakia.