Customs officer detained in Zakarpattia for attempting to smuggle draft dodgers abroad for $32,000 – SBI. PHOTOS
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with the National Police’s Strategic Investigations Department, exposed a customs service inspector in Zakarpattia region who was organizing a scheme to illegally help men of conscription age leave the country.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the SBI press service.
According to the investigation, the official offered two men the opportunity to leave Ukraine by bypassing official border controls. The suspect planned to collect their passports approximately 300 meters before the border checkpoint, personally "negotiate" with colleagues to register false exit stamps, and allow the men to cross the border unhindered.
He demanded $16,000 from each man for his services, of which he had already received $6,000 in advance. If successful, he intended to make the scheme permanent.
The customs officer was detained while escorting his "clients" to the border and receiving an additional $26,000. He has been formally charged under Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unlawful transportation of persons across the state border for personal gain), which carries a sentence of up to 9 years in prison.
The court ordered pre-trial detention with the option of posting bail in the amount of 1.2 million hryvnias. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to identify all individuals involved in the scheme.
