Police in Ukraine’s Lviv Region have detained a group of individuals suspected of abducting a teenager and attempting to extort a fabricated debt. The suspects have been notified of suspicion for unlawful deprivation of liberty and extortion.
According to law enforcement, on the evening of February 21 the offenders arrived at Levytskoho Street in Lviv, where the victim — a 17-year-old from Vinnytsia Region who was temporarily staying in the city — was living. They asked him to get into a Lexus. Inside the vehicle, the suspects reportedly pulled a plastic bag over the teenager’s head and transported him to a заранее prepared location — a residential house in one of the villages of Lviv District.
At the house, the victim’s hands and feet were tied with plastic zip ties and construction tape, after which the suspects demanded he repay an alleged debt of 400,000 Russian rubles. The teenager denied owing any money and refused to pay. Investigators say the extortionists then used physical and psychological pressure and threatened to kill him.
The victim was held until February 23, when police located the place where he was being detained and conducted an operation to free him. The case involved multiple units of Lviv Region police, including criminal investigation officers, explosive technicians, dog handlers, and other services, as well as criminal police operatives and investigators from Police Department No. 3 of Lviv District Police Administration No. 2.
The teenager was freed and the suspects were detained with support from special forces and the KORD unit of Lviv Region police.
Investigators identified the detainees as a 49-year-old from Dnipropetrovsk Region, a 20-year-old from Kharkiv, a 23-year-old from Zaporizhzhia, and a 24-year-old from Lviv Region. All were detained under Article 208 of Ukraine’s Criminal Procedure Code.
Under the procedural supervision of the Pustomyty District Prosecutor’s Office, the suspects were served notices of suspicion under:
- Part 4 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (extortion);
- Part 2 of Article 146 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (unlawful deprivation of liberty or kidnapping).
The maximum penalty is up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and the court ordered pre-trial detention without bail.