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14 July 2026, 13:25
Odessa police have shut down a scheme involving travel abroad in luxury SUVs
Ця стаття також доступна українською4
PHOTO: od.npu.gov.ua
In the Odesa region, a 34-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man were detained for organizing the departure of individuals subject to military conscription abroad in Lexus and Toyota Sequoia SUVs. The detainees have been notified of the charges against them, and preventive measures have been imposed.
This was reported by the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa Oblast.
During an inspection of a Lexus SUV driven by a resident of the Odesa district and a Toyota Sequoia driven by a woman from Odesa, border guards discovered 13 passengers subject to military conscription from seven regions of Ukraine, ranging in age from 24 to 44. Law enforcement officers detained the drivers, seized the vehicles used in the escape scheme, and confiscated cell phones containing evidence of the offense.
According to investigators, the suspects had an accomplice who offered to help men from various regions of the country leave the country. Those subject to military service initially traveled to Odesa on their own. They were then to be transported to the Podilskyi District of the Odesa region, after which they were to walk to the state border with Moldova and cross it illegally. The cost of such a trip was 10,000 U.S. dollars. The funds were transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet.
Those suspected of organizing the scheme face up to nine years in prison with confiscation of property.
Previously, a channel for traveling abroad using forged Bulgarian passports was dismantled in Odesa. The investigation notes that to obtain a fictitious foreign document, the accused committed criminal acts to confirm a Ukrainian’s Bulgarian origin. In particular, family ties were fabricated. For example, a woman who was a complete stranger was supposed to serve as the client’s “grandmother.” She was indeed a citizen of the Republic of Bulgaria, but she was not related to the man from Odesa. Her official information was used to create a fake “family tree.” This served as the basis for acquiring Bulgarian citizenship by descent.
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