Ex-commander, civilians ran soldier smuggling ring abroad – SBI
Employees of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) in cooperation with the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have detained the organizers of the scheme, who helped servicemen leave their place of service and travel to European countries.
"The deal was organized by an officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who is a defendant in the case of the fictitious service of a deputy of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council. For money, he organized an escape for some servicemen directly from the unit. He was helped by two civilians who were responsible for financial settlement and direct transportation of clients," the agency's website said in a statement on Friday.
In one of the episodes, the defendants organized the escape of a serviceman from one of the units of the Kamianske district of the Dnipropetrovsk region. The officer's accomplice assured the client that the escape would take place "without consequences," and the full package of services would cost $14,000.
"On September 9, another participant in the scheme came to pick up the soldier from the unit and went with him to Dnipro. In the city, the soldier handed over part of the payment in the amount of $7,000. He was supposed to give the rest before leaving for Europe. The "service" also included assistance with illegal border crossing. In addition, the defendants instructed the soldier that after getting abroad he should contact the local police and register as a refugee," the SBI reports.
The criminal plan was prevented from being implemented by law enforcement officers.
It is noted that the main defendant, who organized the escape, was one of those who helped the deputy of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council fictitiously serve.
After this incident, the unit command dismissed him from his post and demoted him from lieutenant colonel to major. The court found him guilty of aiding and abetting military service evasion and embezzlement of another's property (Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 4 of Article 409, Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and, taking into account his remorse, imposed a sentence of probation for 3 years. However, after these events, he did not stop, but continued his criminal activity.
The officer was detained in one of the gambling establishments of Dnipro, where he regularly spent his leisure time. During the search, almost $4,000 was seized from him, which he had not yet managed to lose that evening.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, the SBI officers identified an eyewitness who confirmed the information about the business of transporting military personnel and gave incriminating testimony against the officer.
Therefore, now the major, as well as his accomplice, are suspected of obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations (Part 1 of Article 114-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
In addition, all three are also suspected of aiding and abetting desertion (Part 5 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The sanction of the article provides for a penalty of imprisonment for a term of up to 12 years.
Currently, the issue of choosing a preventive measure for the officer in the form of detention without the possibility of posting bail is being resolved. Other episodes of the criminal activity of the defendants and the involvement of officers of the military unit in it are also being checked.