Police officer detained in Odesa on suspicion of extortion from taxi drivers

An inspector of the Preventive Activities Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast was served a notice of suspicion of extortion and receipt of illegal benefits.

This was reported by the press service of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to the investigation, the law enforcement officer set up an illegal scheme to receive bribes from taxi drivers for unimpeded movement around the city during the curfew period.

In exchange for a weekly fee of USD 100 per car, the policeman promised not to impede their movement. In particular, he guaranteed to coordinate the lists of vehicles with the management, warn them about the location of checkpoints and patrols, and influence their colleagues in case of a stop.

The investigation documented the receipt of USD 2.5 thousand by the offender. He was detained after transferring another part of the money. The suspect has been detained as a measure of restraint in the form of custody with an alternative to bail.

Earlier, during a special operation in Odesa, four officials of the Anti-Smuggling Department of the local customs exposed four officials on extortion of money from entrepreneurs for unimpeded export of goods from Ukraine.

The official was detained in accordance with Art. 208 of the CPC of Ukraine while receiving USD 6.8 thousand for the production of another batch of certificates. A notice of suspicion is being prepared under Part 1 Article 114-1, Part 3 Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Under the procedural supervision of the prosecutors, the pre-trial investigation into the revealed facts of illegal activities of customs officials is ongoing.

Systematic work to detect and stop such crimes continues.

Law enforcement agencies also do not give collaborators a chance to achieve their goals together with our enemy Russia. Thus, the prosecutor's office detained a man who leaked the locations of Ukrainian defenders on the air of ChatRoulette.

Кирило Бойко