For 6500 dollars, the perpetrators offered military conscripts a route map and instructions for self-crossing the border. They face up to nine years in prison.
Investigators from the Obolon police department, together with operatives from the National Police's internal security department, uncovered two «coaches» from Kharkiv region, aged 24 and 23, who created a comprehensive guide for escapees.
The criminals clearly defined roles and devised a marketing plan, recruiting clients via TikTok where they advertised smuggling services.
One of the suspects was responsible for meeting potential escapees, negotiating, collecting fees, and transferring the money to a partner's crypto wallet. The other suspect communicated with clients through messengers to avoid law enforcement detection.
After receiving payment, he sent the client a guide for illegal border crossing, which included multimedia maps, walking instructions, and actions to take at checkpoints on the way to the Transcarpathian region.
They priced their services at 6500 dollars, guaranteeing a hundred percent success rate during negotiations.
Law enforcement halted their operation and arrested one smuggler immediately after he received payment from a man attempting to illegally enter Europe.
The Kyiv police investigators announced suspicions against the perpetrators for illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine, committed by a group of individuals in conspiracy (part 3 of article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The article carries a sanction of up to nine years in prison with property confiscation.
The actions were conducted under the procedural guidance of the Obolon district prosecutor's office in Kyiv.