Company commander who sold military drones and machine guns for 1.1 million hryvnias has been detained, - SBI. PHOTO
Officers from the State Bureau of Investigation, working in conjunction with the National Police and the SSU, have exposed and detained a serviceman in the Donetsk region who illegally sold two drones that were part of his unit’s arsenal, as well as two machine guns. The total value of the transaction was 1.1 million hryvnias.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing the State Bureau of Investigation’s press centre.
What did the investigation establish?
It is reported that the company commander of one of the battalions in the military unit decided to enrich himself illegally at the expense of military property; furthermore, he organised the sale of illegally acquired weapons, explosives and ammunition.
In June this year, the suspect found a buyer via a messaging app, to whom he sold, during a face-to-face meeting in Kramatorsk, two ‘Vampir’ drones stolen from his unit and two illegally acquired machine guns.
"Law enforcement officers arrested the suspect immediately after the ‘deal’. Following searches carried out at his home and in his garage, over 1,600 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, two automatic rifles, 102 blocks of plastic explosive, 80 kg of plastic explosive in a sack, a box containing a substance resembling an explosive, and other military equipment were seized," the statement reads.
The extent of the damage caused to the state will be determined following the necessary expert examinations.
Suspicion
- The serviceman has been notified that he is suspected of stealing military property whilst martial law was in force (Article 410(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), as well as of acquiring, carrying and selling firearms and ammunition without the authorisation required by law (Article 263(1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
- The offences carry a penalty of imprisonment for up to 15 years.
- The court imposed a pre-trial detention order on the suspect, with the right to post bail.
- Officers from the State Bureau of Investigation are establishing whether the property seized from the suspect belongs to a military unit.
