Overnight, police eliminated almost fifty illegal border crossing schemes in 22 regions of Ukraine
11 January 10:28
As a result of 600 searches across Ukraine, more than 60 suspicions have been served on organizers and participants for illegal border crossing – these are the results of the first stage of a special operation to shut down illegal border crossing channels. They were reported by the National Police, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
The special police operation covered 22 regions of the country. In one day, police eliminated almost fifty schemes of illegal border crossing by men of military age.
What schemes were offered to the evaders
The detected schemes included smuggling outside checkpoints, forging health documents, fake entries in the Shlyakh information system, and others. The defendants include heads of hospitals of various levels, officials of the TCC, MSEC, and MEC, as well as civilians.
They offered conscripts various schemes for crossing the border. For example, to obtain a certificate from the Military Medical Commission about being unfit for military service with exclusion from the military register or to make fake documents that give the right to travel abroad. Among the most popular offers is to cross the border outside checkpoints – in the woods, by boat or in a wetsuit on a river, in a truck trunk or in women’s clothing.
Potential “clients” were sought through friends and closed telegram channels. Such “services” cost them from 5 to 22 thousand dollars. During the searches, the police seized lists of trafficked persons for 2024, forged documents and seals of various government agencies, weapons, black books, and cash in various currencies. Investigators served 60 suspicion notices for smuggling people across the state border of Ukraine. The suspects include both ordinary performers and organizers, including heads of government agencies at various levels.
The actions of the defendants are classified under Part 3 of Art. 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine. They face up to nine years in prison with confiscation of property and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions.
The operation was conducted by operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department and investigators of the National Police jointly with the State Border Guard Service, prosecutors and the Prosecutor General’s Office with the involvement of employees of the TCC and the JV.
The first stage of the special operation has been completed, and the pre-trial investigation is ongoing. Police are identifying other people involved in organizing schemes to illegally cross the state border of Ukraine during the war.
