Criminal Arrested at Border: Latest Updates
Law enforcement authorities arrested a 50-year-old man at the border with the unrecognized PMR, who attempted to transport two clients for escape. The suspect has been charged and preventive measures have been taken against him.
Officers from the Migration Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odessa region and investigators from police station No. 2 of the Odessa District Police Department No. 1 uncovered the illegal activities of a resident of the Rozdilna district.
Police established that the man, in collusion with an unidentified person who sought clients via messenger for illegal border crossing, agreed to transport fugitives to the border with the unrecognized Transnistria.
Authorities documented how the driver met two conscript-aged men in Odessa and transported them in his car to the Podilskyi district, where he was to drop them off near the state border's protective ditch. After receiving detailed instructions on overcoming obstacles, the Odessa men were supposed to cross into the PMR independently.
However, their illegal crossing was thwarted by law enforcement. With the support of the special police battalion of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Odessa region, the suspect and his passengers were apprehended 100 meters from the state border.
As material evidence, investigators seized the suspect's vehicle and his mobile phone containing information of interest to the investigation. The court has placed a freeze on this property.
Investigators have informed the suspect of charges related to the illegal transportation of individuals across the state border of Ukraine, committed in conspiracy by a group of individuals under part 2 of article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This crime is punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment. The court has chosen to detain the suspect.
Investigative actions are ongoing under the procedural guidance of the Suvorov District Prosecutor's Office in Odessa.
During the pre-trial investigation, all circumstances of the crime and the full range of individuals involved will be established.
Law enforcement emphasizes that those who assist in crossing the border, including drivers, bear criminal liability for such actions.
We emphasize: the criminal actions of transporters, including drivers of cars, boats, submarines, etc., can be qualified as aiding in the illegal transportation of individuals across the state border of Ukraine, punishable by up to nine years in prison.
