Ukrainian Officer Arrested for Smuggling Men Abroad for $7K

Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine, detained a law enforcement officer in Odesa region who was making money by smuggling men of military age across the border.

This was reported by the SBI press service, noting that the detainee had once served in the Border Guard Service himself.

He was looking for people who wanted to avoid mobilization and offered them assistance in crossing the border to unrecognized Transnistria bypassing checkpoints. The price of assistance was 7 thousand US dollars.

The man promised to personally escort the men to a certain place on the border at night and show them how they could cross the border on their own. He claimed that he had already escorted people across the border in this way on several occasions. On January 31, 2025, he was detained while receiving an advance payment for the promised service and was notified of suspicion of organizing the illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine (Article 332, paragraph 3, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The issue of choosing a measure of restraint and removing him from office is being decided. The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for up to 9 years.

Earlier, two women were exposed in Odesa region who made false maritime documents and arranged for clients to join the crews of ships sailing to foreign ports. This scheme allowed men of conscription age to travel freely outside Ukraine. One of the suspects used to work for a crewing company that employs seafarers. Using her knowledge and connections, she developed a scheme to produce forged documents that allowed her to travel abroad allegedly to work in the maritime industry.

Law enforcement officers detained in Odesa region a 36-year-old resident of the Safianivska community of Izmail district on suspicion of organizing the illegal transportation of Ukrainians liable for military service abroad. The services cost 4 thousand US dollars, of which 1.5 thousand had to be paid immediately and 2.5 thousand upon receipt of documents.

Кирило Бойко