Four Ukrainians detained in Poland: they are suspected of kidnapping migrants for ransom. PHOTOS
Polish law enforcement officers detained four Ukrainian citizens. They are suspected of kidnapping and brutally beating African migrants in Poland and Latvia to extort ransom for them.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Polish media RMF24 and Rzeczpospolita.
The detainees are four Ukrainian citizens who have been staying in Poland legally for five years. The oldest woman is 40 years old, the youngest suspect is 20 years old.
As noted, in the city of Lublin, Poland, on 14 June 2025, two naked men jumped out of the bushes. They were frightened, disoriented, sitting on the pavement, with the remains of tape on their necks and arms. It turned out that they were migrants from Ethiopia who had fled from kidnappers who were demanding ransom from their families.
The media reported that the gang members threatened that if their demands were not met, the victims would be killed and their organs sold.
The messages contained photos of naked, bound men and screenshots of conversations in Russian with ransom demands in cryptocurrency.
The attackers demanded a substantial sum of money from the relatives of the kidnapped Ethiopians - 30,000 Tether tokens (₴1.25 million). Then they lowered their demand as the kidnapped men did not come from wealthy families.
According to law enforcement, the suspects fled to Latvia, where they abducted three Malian citizens. The men were tied up and locked in the trunk of a car. One of them was tied to a tree and severely beaten with a wooden stick. The perpetrators sent a video of the torture to his family along with a ransom demand.
Polish police established cooperation with Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian authorities. The kidnappers have been identified.
According to the investigation, the citizens of Ukraine were involved in the transportation of illegal migrants to Western Europe.
In late June, three people were detained on the road near the town of Ostrów Mazowiecki with the participation of anti-terrorist forces. The fourth was detained in Skwierzyn.
Three of the four suspects are currently in custody.
