Law enforcement officers uncovered a group of individuals who sold over 74 tons of counterfeit fertilizers worth 1,261,300 hryvnias. The criminals face imprisonment for a term of 5 to 12 years with confiscation of property.
This is reported by Rivne24
Investigators from the Rivne District Police Department, with operational support from the Criminal Investigation Department, established that a 26-year-old resident of the village of Velyka Omelyana, who is a private entrepreneur, organized the production of a substance in Rivne that outwardly resembles mineral fertilizer but is not such in its chemical composition. He involved his brother, a 26-year-old resident of the town of Kvasyliv, and two acquaintances: a 42-year-old man from Rivne and a 24-year-old resident of the village of Shubkiv.
The criminals packaged the counterfeit products in bags of a well-known brand and then sold the colored chalk as mineral fertilizer through an online advertisement platform.
During authorized searches, law enforcement officers discovered and seized equipment for producing the counterfeit, bags with logos, cash, and mobile phones.
The organizer and his three accomplices were notified of suspicion of committing a crime under part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (fraud in especially large amounts committed by an organized group) under the procedural guidance of the Rivne Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The court imposed preventive measures in the form of nighttime house arrest for the 26-year-old resident of the village of Omelyana and his two accomplices — the 42-year-old man from Rivne and the 24-year-old resident of the village of Shubkiv. The situation regarding the organizer’s brother is still being resolved.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.