With a deferment – in the cabin, without – in the trunk
In Odesa region, border guards uncovered a channel that facilitated the illegal exit of men of conscription age to Moldova outside of border crossing points. The main organizer of this scheme was a 44-year-old woman from one of the South Caucasus countries.
This is reported by Rivne24
The woman sought out those willing to cross the border through acquaintances and set a fee of 12 thousand US dollars. To implement her “business,” she involved an accomplice who acted as the transporter.
With each client, the organizer negotiated personally, met them in Odesa, took an advance of 500 dollars, and was to receive the remainder after a successful border crossing.
Five men of conscription age from Rivne, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv regions arrived in Odesa at her direction. To avoid suspicion at checkpoints, they were dressed in military uniforms and carried tactical backpacks. In the “taxi,” they were seated according to their status: four who had deferments from conscription sat in the cabin, while a 35-year-old without documents was hidden in the trunk.
– However, their “journey” ended just a few meters from the state border: law enforcement stopped the vehicle along with the “passengers,” and the organizer of the scheme was detained in Odesa, – reports the Southern Border of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. – Currently, the foreigners and her accomplice have been informed of suspicion of committing a crime under Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Illegal Transportation of Persons Across the State Border of Ukraine.”
Operational measures were conducted by the Odesa Border Detachment in conjunction with the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police under the procedural guidance of the Hadzhybei District Prosecutor’s Office of Odesa.