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April 28, 2026, 9:22 p.m.
Kidnappers in Odesa posed as diplomats and military
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PHOTO: National Police in Odesa region
Operatives of the Odesa Department of the Internal Security Department of the National Police, together with investigators from the Odesa Police, detained a group of criminals who had committed serious crimes for their own profit.
According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast, the accomplices ran up to the 44-year-old businessman in a parking lot and, imitating a detention on behalf of law enforcement agencies, forced him into their car.
In the car, they handcuffed him and put a mask on his head and took him to a neighboring region. After a while, they returned to Odesa region, where they placed him in an abandoned house. There, the accomplices used physical violence against their victim: they strangled him with a rope until he lost consciousness, electrocuted him and beat him with rubber truncheons on the feet, squeezed his head in a homemade vice, hit him in the chest and jumped on his arms, which were already in a helpless state.
In between the beatings, the perpetrators demanded that he give them $360,000 in exchange for his freedom. When the man said that he did not have that kind of money, the perpetrators continued the abuse. The man repeatedly lost consciousness from the terrible pain. Unable to withstand the torture, the victim agreed to the extortionists' terms, contacted his wife and ordered her to give the kidnappers $152,000. The frightened wife handed over the money to the criminals. The businessman was released soon after. The man was hospitalized with severe injuries.
Law enforcement officers conducted a number of operational and investigative measures and identified the main participants in the crime. They were two local residents, one of whom was a native of Russia. The suspects had nothing to do with the military, but simply posed as their employees to move freely around the city and through checkpoints. For this purpose, they even used fake documents of both military formations and car license plates, including diplomatic ones.
The police conducted authorized searches of the suspects. During the searches, the law enforcement seized weapons, IDs with signs of forgery, various military documents, fake car license plates, handcuffs, ties, various tactical clothing, tile carriers, a tactical helmet and other material evidence. The seized items were sent for examination.
Also, law enforcement officers found medals and coins with the inscriptions "Year of foundation 1147 Moscow", "Unification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia", as well as dry rations of the Russian army. The involvement of the defendants in the Russian army and their relation to the aggressor country is currently being checked. The detainees were notified of being suspected of illegal deprivation of liberty or abduction and extortion. They face up to 12 years in prison.
