Two channels of illegal travel abroad blocked in Transcarpathia, organizers with millions of “tariffs” detained

Operatives of the Mukachevo Border Guard Unit and law enforcement officers have uncovered two schemes for illegal smuggling of people across the border of Ukraine.

The perpetrators were detained while receiving money for their services, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports.

Employees of the Main Operational and Investigative Department, together with the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor’s Office, conducted a number of operational measures, during which they neutralized two channels for smuggling people across the state border.

In the first case, a resident of Transcarpathia was detained, who was driving a 29-year-old Odessa resident to the border zone in his car. The man promised the client to illegally cross the border across the Tysa River for 8 thousand US dollars.

The detention was carried out as part of criminal proceedings under Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine with the support of the Beregov District Police Department and the DOZOR special unit. The perpetrator was arrested immediately after the transfer of the agreed amount.

The second scheme was organized by a resident of Zaporizhzhia, who planned to smuggle a 24-year-old man from Volyn, also estimating her services at $8,000. She was detained in Uzhgorod.

The border detachment operatives acted together with investigators from the Mukachevo District Police Department and representatives of the SBU Cybersecurity Department in Transcarpathia. The Mukachevo District Prosecutor’s Office provides procedural guidance.

Investigative actions are currently ongoing, and law enforcement officers are identifying possible accomplices in illegal human trafficking schemes.