In Transcarpathia, smugglers who charged $10,000 per person to cross the border were detained
Operatives from the Chop and Mukachevo Border Guard Detachments uncovered two channels used to smuggle people across Ukraine’s state border. According to border guards, the organizers of the scheme who were detained demanded approximately 10,000 dollars for assisting in the illegal crossing of the border.
As part of criminal proceedings under Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, border guards from the Chop Detachment, together with officers from the migration police and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), documented the illegal activities of the participants in the criminal scheme, who were operating on the border with Slovakia. The traffickers sought out “clients” through social media and promised them a 100% guarantee of being smuggled into EU countries.
While executing the criminal proceedings, law enforcement officers detained one of the suspects in Uzhhorod, who, for 10,000 U.S. dollars, had illegally smuggled a Ukrainian citizen across the Ukrainian-Slovak border. He turned out to be a 65-year-old resident of Kryvyi Rih. Law enforcement officers documented the “client” handing over part of the agreed-upon sum to him for the smuggling. The criminal investigation also documented the activities of another participant in the scheme. The operations were conducted under the procedural supervision of the Uzhhorod District Prosecutor’s Office.
In another case, operatives from the 27th Border Guard Detachment, in cooperation with employees of the Tyachiv Department of the Security Service of Ukraine and investigators from the Tyachiv District Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zakarpattia Oblast, under the procedural supervision of the Tyachiv District Prosecutor’s Office and with the support of military personnel from the “Hrushevo” detachment and cadets from the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service, detained a resident of Zakarpattia Oblast. He intended to smuggle a 24-year-old resident of Donetsk Oblast into Romania outside of official border crossing points in exchange for a fee of 10,000 U.S. dollars.
According to the smugglers’ plan, during the journey, the “client” was to cross a river section of the border by swimming, which put his life in serious danger.
Law enforcement officers detained both suspects in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The court imposed pretrial detention as a preventive measure, with the possibility of bail. The investigation is ongoing.
Source: Western Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine—Western Border
As a reminder, the SBU detained a spotter coordinating Russian strikes on Chernivtsi.
The SBU also exposed a Russian intelligence network that was planning terrorist attacks using teenagers.
The SBU uncovered the embezzlement of state funds allocated for the Trypillya and Zmiiv Thermal Power Plants.
