In Lviv region, an indictment has been sent to court against two residents of Zakarpattia, who are accused of organising the illegal transfer of people across the Ukrainian-Romanian border for a monetary reward.
According to the investigation, the 22- and 23-year-old residents of Zakarpattia had in advance devised a route for the illegal crossing of the state border outside designated checkpoints. The cost of such a “route” was 7,500 US dollars per person.
To implement the scheme, they arranged for a 37-year-old resident of Lviv to travel to Ivano-Frankivsk region, where they were to ensure his further illegal departure from Ukraine. The suspects remotely coordinated the actions of their “clients”, organised their delivery to border settlements, temporary accommodation, and then escort along forest roads to the border. They also provided detailed instructions on further movement through the territory of the neighbouring state.
They failed to carry out their plan. On 4 July, law enforcement officers detained the suspects under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. During searches, mobile phones, a vehicle and other physical evidence were seized which, according to the investigation, confirm the unlawful activity.
The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings opened under Part 2 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Illegal transfer of persons across the state border of Ukraine”) has been completed, and the indictment has been sent to court. The accused face a sentence of imprisonment for a term of five to seven years, with an additional ban on holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years.
The measures to uncover the scheme were carried out by operational officers of the 7th Carpathian Border Detachment together with officers of the 27th Border Detachment, in cooperation with staff of the Migration Police Department in Lviv region and investigators of Police Station No. 1 of Lviv District Police Department No. 2, under the procedural supervision of the Pustomyty District Prosecutor’s Office.