In Lviv region, a 26-year-old carrier has been sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property for facilitating the illegal departure of a man liable for military service from Ukraine. This was reported by the Halych District Prosecutor’s Office of the city of Lviv.
The court also banned the convicted man from engaging in any activity related to passenger transport for a period of 3 years.
It was established that in January this year the man came to Lviv to earn some extra money. There he picked up his “client” and was to take him to a hotel in Ivano-Frankivsk region, where the man liable for military service planned to meet other participants in the scheme and cross the state border outside official checkpoints.
During the journey, the driver instructed the passenger on how to avoid having his phone tracked and assured him that there would be no problems at checkpoints. For the transport he received a total of 20,500 UAH, of which 18,000 UAH was in cash, and the rest was transferred to a bank card.
However, the carrier did not manage to get the client to his destination — his unlawful activity was stopped by law enforcement officers. It turned out that he is a resident of Kirovohrad region who had already been repeatedly held liable for driving without a licence, as he had never obtained one at all.
The man was charged with facilitating the illegal transfer of a person across the state border of Ukraine by providing advice, instructions, means and removing obstacles, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy and for profit (Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The court verdict will enter into legal force after the expiry of the time limit for lodging an appeal.