Transfer to border for $13,000 blocked: three participants in scheme detained in Odesa region. PHOTOS

Operatives from the Odesa Border Guard Detachment, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the National Police, have shut down yet another channel for the illegal smuggling of men of draft age across the state border. The security services have detained the co-organizer of the scheme and two of his accomplices.

This was reported by the press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, according to Censor.NET.

The logistics of the scheme and the arrest in the act

The organizer of the illegal operation turned out to be a 58-year-old man from Odesa. He sought out men who wanted to leave Ukraine and promised them a "safe route" to Moldova via the Transnistrian section of the border. His accomplices—residents of the Odesa and Kyiv regions—were responsible for logistics and directly transported people to the demarcation line.

All those involved were under the command of the main organizer, whose identity is currently being determined by the investigation.

The cost of the illegal transfer was $13,000, and payment was made in two installments:

Deposit: The client paid $1,000 when planning the trip;
The bulk of the money—$12,000—was handed over while the car was already on its way to the border.

Law enforcement officers carried out a two-stage operation. First, they stopped a car in the Odesa region in which accomplices were transporting the fugitives to the border zone. At the same time, in Odesa itself, they detained a 58-year-old co-organizer—just as he was receiving the final $12,000 from the girlfriend of one of the fugitives.

What consequences do the detainees face?

All three individuals involved in the criminal proceedings have already been charged with illegally transporting people across Ukraine’s state border. The court has ordered that they be held in custody, with the option of posting bail.