Moldovan citizen sent to Odesa SIZO for schemes with conscripts

A Moldovan citizen who tried to smuggle people across the border outside of checkpoints was detained in Odesa region. The court sent him to a pre-trial detention center for two months and set his bail at a quarter of a million hryvnias.

This is evidenced by the decision of the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa.

In Odesa region, a Moldovan citizen suspected of organizing the illegal transportation of people across the state border of Ukraine to the Transnistrian region of Moldova outside official checkpoints was detained. According to the investigation, the crime was committed in early January 2026, when the suspect was looking for Ukrainian citizens who were trying to avoid mobilization and coordinated their actions to cross the border.

According to the pre-trial investigation, the organizer gave instructions on the time, place and method of transportation, and involved another man to commit the crime. One of the conscripts, who planned to go abroad due to a job offer, learned about the smuggler's services and agreed to pay USD 6,500.

On February 14, 2026, the conscript arrived by train on the Odesa-Vapnyarka route to the Veselyi Kut station in the village of Novoborysivka, Rozdilnyanskyi district. There he met with two unknown men who were supposed to facilitate the smuggling.

He gave part of the money - $300 - to the driver for transportation to the border, and the rest - $6,500 - directly to the organizer. During the transportation on the outskirts of the village of Yosypivka, all participants were detained by officers of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

According to the court's decision, the suspect was placed in the Odesa Pretrial Detention Center until April 14, 2026. At the same time, the court set bail at UAH 266,240.

Also in February, in Odesa region, a court found a man guilty of organizing the illegal transfer of a conscript to Moldova and attempting to bribe a border guard. He organized the smuggling of his relative using his acquaintances in the Border Guard Service.

The investigation established that the accused had prepared USD 7,500 in advance to be transferred as a bribe. In the village of Mayaki, he handed over the agreed amount to the border guard in the car for the unimpeded passage of his son-in-law across the border, after which they were detained by law enforcement officers.

Анна Бальчінос