Over the past 24 hours, police in 22 regions of the country have dismantled about fifty schemes for illegal border crossing by men of military age. The methods included smuggling outside checkpoints, forging health documents, fake entries in the Shlyakh information system, etc.
Investigation of a large-scale network
The criminal network was uncovered by National Police investigators jointly with operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department, the State Border Guard Service, prosecutors and the Prosecutor General’s Office. The investigation also involved employees of the TCC and the JV.
The defendants include heads of medical institutions, officials of the MCC, MSEC, Military Medical Commission and civilians who offered conscripts various illegal ways to cross the border.
Popular schemes
Among the most common ways:
- Obtaining certificates from the military qualification commission about being unfit for military service;
- producing forged documents for travelling abroad;
- illegal border crossing outside checkpoints – through the forest, by boat, in a wetsuit across a river, in a truck trunk or even in women’s clothing.
The defendants searched for clients through friends and closed telegram channels. The cost of the services ranged from $5,000 to $22,000, depending on the method of transfer. The proceeds were legalised through the purchase of cars and real estate, and were also transferred to offshore companies.
Results of the searches and suspicions
During the searches, the police seized lists of trafficked persons for 2024, forged documents, seals of state bodies, black books, weapons and a large amount of cash in different currencies.
Investigators have already served 60 suspicion notices under Part 3 of Art. 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – illegal trafficking of persons across the state border. The suspects include organisers of the schemes and ordinary executors, including heads of state institutions.
Punishment
The defendants face up to nine years in prison with confiscation of property and a ban on holding certain positions.
The police have completed the first stage of the special operation, but the pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Law enforcers are working to identify other people involved in organising illegal border crossing schemes during the war.