Two men have been exposed in the Lviv region for organizing illegal cross-border transfers.
According to the investigation, in November this year, two residents of the Zolochiv community developed a scheme to profit from transferring a person eligible for military service abroad. For 13,000 USD, they promised to organize a trip to Moldova. According to the plan, the “client” from Zolochiv was to be transported around checkpoints to the Vinnytsia region. There, he would receive detailed instructions about the exit. The conscript was supposed to cross the border by boat via the river.
The implementation of the plan involved two stages. First, one of the scheme participants, a 41-year-old man, took the “client” from one of the villages in the Zolochiv district and drove him to Zolochiv, where he received an initial payment of 3,500 USD. They then planned to pick up an accomplice, a 40-year-old district resident, to drive to the border together. The final payment for the services was to occur at the starting point of the route near the border.
However, the plan could not be realized—both participants in the scheme were detained by law enforcement under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine following the first payment. During searches, cash, mobile phones, and vehicles were seized. Under the procedural guidance of the Zolochiv District Prosecutor’s Office, the men are suspected of illegally transporting individuals across the state border of Ukraine (Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). At the prosecution’s request, the suspects have been detained with an option to post bail. Investigations continue to identify all involved parties.
The pre-trial investigation is conducted by the Zolochiv District Police Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Lviv region, with operational support from the Zolochiv Regional Security Service of Ukraine in the Lviv region.
Note: According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court’s verdict.