A smuggling ring that used counterfeit Bulgarian passports to facilitate travel abroad was dismantled in Odesa

<span><span><span><span><span><span>A foreign national will stand trial in Odesa for issuing fake Bulgarian citizenship to men subject to military conscription in exchange for 11,000 euros. The set of documents was then to be used to travel abroad.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>This was reported by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odesa region</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>Police uncovered the illegal activities of the 59-year-old man in late February. The investigation has now been completed, and an indictment on several charges has been sent to court. He faces a maximum sentence of nine years in prison, along with a ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years, and confiscation of property. </span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>The investigation notes that, in order to obtain a fake foreign passport, the defendant committed criminal acts to confirm the Ukrainian’s Bulgarian origin. In particular, family ties were fabricated. For example, a woman who was a complete stranger was supposed to be the client’s “grandmother.” She was indeed a citizen of the Republic of Bulgaria, but she was not related to the man from Odesa. Her official records were used to create a fake “family tree” and, accordingly, a basis for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship by descent.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>According to the investigation, the defendant also prepared fictitious medical certificates regarding the Odessa resident’s health and a forged extract from the State Register of Civil Status Acts on a form visually similar to an official document from the Ministry of Justice. For this work, he received an advance payment of five thousand euros. </span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>With a complete set of forged documents in hand, the Odessa resident went to the consular office of the Republic of Bulgaria to submit the relevant application. Immediately afterward, he paid the defendant the second installment—6,000 euros. </span></span></span></span></span></span>

<span><span><span><span><span><span>In the Odesa region, 10 men attempted to smuggle people out of the country disguised as furniture. The men were discovered in the back of a truck. They were hiding under boxes that had once contained furniture. To endure the harsh temperature conditions inside the enclosed, tarped space, the passengers had brought only drinking water with them.</span></span></span></span></span></span>

Юлія Калабайда