A scheme to smuggle conscripts to Moldova was uncovered in the Sumy region
In the Sumy region, a case has been referred to court involving a 40-year-old resident of the regional capital who is accused of organizing the illegal smuggling of conscripts abroad. According to the investigation, the man received over $42,000 for his services. The plan was to organize the departure outside of official border crossings through Moldovan territory.
The Sumy District Prosecutor’s Office has completed the pre-trial investigation and referred the indictment against the 40-year-old Sumy resident to court. Law enforcement officials believe that the man organized a scheme to illegally transport conscripts out of Ukraine while martial law was in effect. According to the Sumy Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect agreed to help three men of draft age leave the country by bypassing official border crossings. The final destination of the route was to be the Republic of Moldova.
Investigators determined that the man did not attempt to carry out the scheme on his own. To do so, he enlisted accomplices. One of them, according to law enforcement, lived in the border region and was supposed to cover part of the route, while the other coordinated the participants’ actions from outside Ukraine. According to the investigation, the organizer received over $42,000 for his services. This is the exact amount, as the prosecutor’s office claims, that he earned from illegally smuggling the men across the state border.
The prosecutor’s office notes that the route was designed to avoid official checks and transport the conscripts to Moldova. Details regarding at what stage law enforcement uncovered the scheme have not been specified. “The accused agreed to organize the departure of three conscripts outside of official checkpoints to the Republic of Moldova,” the Sumy Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported.
They also noted that other individuals were involved in carrying out the plan. “One of the accomplices lived in the border region, while another coordinated the operation from abroad,” the agency’s statement said. The indictment has already been sent to court. It is up to the court to determine whether the Sumy resident is guilty of the alleged crime and what punishment he may face.
Recently, law enforcement officials have regularly reported the exposure of similar schemes in various regions of the country. Their organizers use various methods to illegally smuggle men of draft age across the border, and the cost of such “services” often reaches tens of thousands of dollars.
At the same time, law enforcement officials remind the public that organizing the illegal crossing of the state border is a criminal offense, and both the organizers and those participating in such schemes may face liability. This was reported by the Sumy Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
Earlier, a court in Volyn sentenced a serviceman to five years in prison for twice leaving his post without authorization (desertion) after participating in combat operations and sustaining injuries.
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigations completed the pre-trial investigation and sent an indictment against a serviceman from the Sumy region to court. The man is accused of illegally possessing and selling firearms, ammunition, and explosives without the required legal authorization.
