Escape of men to Moldova for $10,000: smuggling ring busted in Odesa region – SBGS. PHOTOS
Border guards and law enforcement officers have dismantled a criminal group that was organizing the illegal departure of draft-age men from Ukraine to Moldova.
This was reported by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Censor.NET reports.
The group consisted of three residents of the Odesa region, one of whom is an active-duty serviceman. The cost of the "service" was $10,500 per person. Each member of the group had a specific role: one communicated with clients and collected down payments, another handled logistics, and the third transported the draft dodgers to the border in a truck, concealing them in the vehicle’s structural compartments.
Payments were made in three stages: $500 as a down payment, $5,500 during the journey before loading into the truck, and another $4,500 handed over at the same time to a trusted contact in Odesa.
One of the organizers and a client were apprehended during the transport operation near the border. The other two were detained in Odesa after receiving another installment of the payment.
All three individuals have been formally charged under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – "Illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine." The court has ordered them into custody with the option of release on bail set at ₴605,600 each.
