Night, fog and an attempt to escape across the Danube: a man prepared a wetsuit and a water scooter

Border guards of the Izmail detachment detained a man who was trying to illegally cross the state border of Ukraine across the Danube River.

According to the SBGS press service, the 31-year-old resident of one of the border villages planned to swim to the Romanian coast. To do this, he prepared in advance by purchasing a wetsuit and an electric water scooter to help him cross the river faster.

To avoid detection, the man decided to act at night during the fog. He drove his own car to the Danube bank, where the state border is located, and drove with the headlights off.

Photo: Press service of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

However, he did not succeed in implementing his plan - the offender was noticed and detained by a border patrol of the Izmail detachment in time.

Administrative materials were drawn up against the man for attempting to illegally cross the state border of Ukraine.

As Intent previously reported, SBI officers, along with the SBU and the State Border Guard Service, exposed a law enforcement officer in Odesa region who organized an illegal business, letting men liable for military service through a transit section of the road on the border with Moldova.

Over the past year, 120 officials were caught smuggling citizens across the border. The most frequent suspects were employees of the TCC, MSEC, doctors and law enforcement officers. In total, during 2024, law enforcement officers investigated 287 criminal proceedings over such facts. Of these, 61 cases were sent to court.

Meanwhile, the SBU detained an inspector of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi border guard detachment on suspicion of organizing a channel for smuggling conscripts across the border.

Law enforcement also detained a 37-year-old Odesa resident who organized the illegal crossing of the Ukrainian border by conscripts. The defendant was looking for men who wanted to flee the country despite martial law and guaranteed them unimpeded travel to a neighboring state for a monetary reward.

Андрій Колісніченко