Military man detained in Odesa region on suspicion of attempting to smuggle a man abroad

Law enforcement officers have served a serviceman of a military unit with a notice of suspicion of organizing the illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine.

According to the press service of the Odesa Specialized Defense Prosecutor's Office of the Southern Region.

Investigators found that in May 2025, the suspect found a citizen liable for military service who did not have legal grounds to travel abroad and, in return for a cash reward of USD 2,000, offered him to organize an illegal crossing of the state border to the Republic of Moldova outside official checkpoints.

By prior arrangement, the citizen handed over USD 300 to the suspect as a deposit, and the rest, USD 1.7 thousand, was to be paid immediately before departure. On June 1, 2025, after meeting in Odesa district, they traveled by electric train in the direction of Rozdilnyanskyi district, where the final payment was made. Later, they took a taxi to one of the villages in the district and walked to the state border. However, law enforcement officers prevented them from realizing their plan.

The same day, the suspect was detained and a custodial measure of restraint was imposed on him with an alternative bail in the amount of UAH 300,000.

The law enforcement also sent to court the case of a 24-year-old resident of Zhytomyr, who, according to the investigation, acted in criminal conspiracy with an unidentified person, whose information was singled out by investigators in a separate criminal proceeding. The latter found a client from Odesa and coordinated him with his accomplice, and the latter came from Zhytomyr to pick up the man liable for military service and drove him in his own car to one of the border settlements of Podil district of Odesa region. The carrier was supposed to take the passenger as close to Transnistria as possible and instruct him on how to cross the border on his own, bypassing the State Border Guard Service.

Кирило Бойко