Former "overseers" of Kyiv pre-trial detention centre created large-scale gang of kidnappers and robbers: 12 participants detained, - Nebytov. VIDEO+PHOTOS
The criminal police, together with investigators from the Main Investigation Department, have exposed a large-scale criminal organisation behind many crimes in Ukraine.
This was announced on Facebook by the Deputy Head of the National Police of Ukraine, Head of the Criminal Police Andrii Nebytov, reports Censor.NET.
The criminals' modus operandi
"Car fires, destruction of property, intimidation and kidnapping, pressure using firearms (even grenade launchers), extortion and robbery — in each case, different modus operandi, different perpetrators, but the same organisers. Encrypted puppeteers who have already been 'decrypted'.
At the top of the hierarchy were former overseers of the capital's pre-trial detention centre, who, after their release, continued to spread their influence over criminals and created a stable group. Armed, secretive, well-versed in police methods.
These "authorities" of the criminal world ruled from the shadows and directly influenced security in the state. Their main activities were organising contract killings, extorting non-existent debts, and putting pressure on businesses and individual entrepreneurs, including through orders from other criminal structures. They provided a full range of services: developing plans, selecting perpetrators, providing weapons, monitoring the execution of crimes, and paying through hidden channels.
One of the most high-profile episodes was the kidnapping of a Chinese citizen. Under the guise of investing in business, the perpetrators lured the man to Ukraine, took him to a secluded place and were beating him for three days until they gained access to his bank accounts and took possession of his money," the statement said.
The National Police specified that in this case alone, the perpetrators illegally seized funds in the amount of 28 thousand US dollars.
Arrest
The police simultaneously detained one of the organisers and 11 active members of the criminal organisation. Another organiser, who is abroad, has been notified of the charges in absentia and will be placed on the international wanted list.
"This operation by the Criminal Investigation Department in cooperation with other departments is of strategic importance for the crime situation in Ukraine. It is moments like these that prove that security is measured, among other things, by the professionalism of those responsible for it," Nebytov explained.
Details from the police
The National Police added that the two organisers had previous convictions and, while serving their sentences, had the status of so-called "overseers" in the "Kyiv Detention Centre", and after their release, they created and led a stable criminal group. The organisation included 10 other members who contributed to the spread of criminal influence in the institution and the transfer of prohibited items and means of communication to prisoners, effectively ensuring the functioning of the criminal hierarchy within the detention centre.
After serving their sentences and being released, the members of the organisation illegally seized a BMW X7 car using violence, committed robberies and looting in Kyiv and the region, extorted money from citizens under the guise of non-existent debts, involved a minor in criminal activity, and illegally acquired and used firearms, including an AK-74 assault rifle. The suspects also extorted money from Ukrainians, intimidating them with photos of mutilated bodies from the internet and telling them that the same would happen to them. In addition, they robbed men: they involved a minor in attacks on victims, beat them and took their money and valuables.
As a result of a large-scale special operation, investigators from the Main Investigation Department and operatives from the Criminal Investigation Department, with the support of the Criminal Investigation Departments in the Zhytomyr and Khmelnytskyi regions, detained eleven active members of the criminal organisation and the organiser, who was three kilometres from the border with Moldova and was attempting to cross it. Another organiser has been notified of suspicion in absentia and will be declared wanted. More than 20 authorised searches were conducted, during which two cars, automatic and short-barrelled weapons, more than 90 rounds of ammunition, knives, mobile phones, computer equipment and other material evidence were seized," the statement said.
Police investigators informed thirteen suspects that they were under suspicion of violating a number of articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: creation of and participation in a criminal organisation (Article 255), spreading criminal influence (Article 255-1), robbery (Article 187), theft (Article 186), extortion (Article 189), unlawful seizure of a vehicle (Article 289), unlawful handling of weapons (Article 263), unlawful deprivation of liberty or kidnapping (Article 146), and involvement of minors in criminal activity (Article 304). The sanctions for the incriminated articles provide for up to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The court imposed a preventive measure in the form of round-the-clock house arrest on one of them, and remanded all the others in custody without bail. The pre-trial investigation is continuing under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
