Odesa police uncover transnational group of smugglers abroad

Police officers of Odesa region, in cooperation with their Moldovan colleagues, exposed a transnational criminal group in the illegal transportation of conscripts across the state border of Ukraine.

This was reported by the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa region.

The detainees' activities were documented by police officers and servicemen of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine under the supervision of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office. A joint investigative team was also set up with Moldovan law enforcement.

According to the investigation, the criminals organized routes outside of checkpoints through the territory of Odesa and a number of other regions to unrecognized Transnistria, Moldova, Hungary and Belarus. The clients, found through social networks and messengers, arrived on their own to border settlements, from where they were transported by car to the border. Then, following instructions, they walked through forests and fields to the territory of Transnistria and other states, where they were met and transferred to Chisinau or to EU countries.

The cost of such services ranged from 2 thousand to 10 thousand dollars per person. To obtain the funds, the criminals used complex financial transactions, including conversion into virtual assets and transactions through cryptocurrency platforms.

Police believe the organizer to be a 48-year-old Ukrainian citizen who lived in Odesa and is currently abroad. He recruited several Moldovan citizens to join the group, who were convicted of illegal migration as part of an organized group by a court in Chisinau in 2025. In addition, several dozen carriers were identified. All of them acted according to a clear division of roles, using means of conspiracy and electronic communications.

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VIDEO: National Police in Odesa region

The group's activities were systematic. Since the end of 2023, law enforcement officers have documented 33 cases of illegal transfer of Ukrainians abroad. More than 100 people have been identified who used the services of the traffickers.

Currently, based on the evidence collected, three suspects, including the organizer, have been served suspicion notices, depending on their actions, of organizing the illegal transfer of persons across the state border of Ukraine, directing such actions and facilitating their commission by giving advice, instructions, providing means and removing obstacles, committed against several persons by an organized group of persons, for mercenary reasons, repeatedly.

This offense is punishable by imprisonment for up to nine years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and confiscation of property. The court imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention on one suspect.

Кирило Бойко