21 September 2026
(PHOTO: Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office)
In the Odesa region, a former employee of a pretrial detention center was notified that he is suspected of illegally acquiring and transporting narcotics and psychotropic substances for the purpose of selling them to inmates. According to the investigation, the man hid the prohibited substances inside a “SpongeBob” stuffed toy.
This was reported by the Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to the investigation, the 25-year-old detention center employee purchased methadone, cannabis, and PVP to later pass them on to inmates in custody.
To conceal the drugs, he placed them in a plastic bag, which he hid inside a “SpongeBob” stuffed toy. The man put the toy in his bag among his personal belongings and then arrived at the facility for his shift.
During a search at the checkpoint, authorities discovered and seized 0.067 grams of methadone, over 73 grams of cannabis, and 4.5 grams of PVP.
<picture>
PHOTO: Odesa Regional Prosecutor’s Office
The former inspector is charged with the illegal acquisition and transportation of a narcotic drug and a particularly dangerous psychotropic substance for the purpose of sale—Part 2 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
At the request of the prosecutor’s office, the court ordered him to be held in pretrial detention with the possibility of bail.
Earlier, the management of the Odesa Pretrial Detention Center was suspended from duty. The reason was a video posted online showing unlawful actions committed against a detainee by individuals sharing his cell.
On November 11, 2025, Sergei Nikitin,at that time a colonel in the internal service, took over as head of the Odessa Pretrial Detention Center. According to the civil society organization “Non-Stop Ukraine,” which releasedthe videothat prompted the investigation,Nikitinorders his subordinates to extort between 2,000 and 15,000 U.S. dollars from detainees at the pretrial detention center. If a person is unable to pay, they are subjected to abuse. Specifically, in the video, a man off-camera forces another man to bring him slippers in his teeth while crawling on all fours and calls him a dog.
Андрій Колісніченко