The Security Service has shut down an illicit passenger transportation channel from Zaporizhzhia to Russia and temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine and vice versa.
According to the case materials, among the clients of these underground routes were collaborators attempting to travel to Russia to evade justice.
Illegal trips outside Ukraine were carried out by two buses disguised as the commercial activity of a local transport company. It was determined that the route towards Russia passed through several European countries.
To move freely within the territory of the aggressor country, the culprits paid taxes and fees to the Russian budget.
The ultimate "destination" of these illegal transports was the temporarily occupied areas in the east and south of Ukraine, where the buses entered from the territory of Russia.
The cost of a ticket for such a journey was $350 one way.
For traveling through the temporarily occupied territories of our state, the criminals collaborated with representatives of local occupation administrations.
Among other things, the culprits received "orders" from Russian occupiers to secretly evacuate their henchmen from the controlled territory of Ukraine.
One of the individuals involved in this illegal "traffic" was a resident of the temporarily occupied part of Zaporizhzhia, who "assisted" the aggressor in organizing pseudo-elections for local "legislative assemblies of the Russian Federation."
Later, the offender traveled to Vinnytsia to conceal the money she received from invaders for organizing a fake plebiscite with her relatives.
Afterwards, she planned to purchase a "return ticket" through the accomplice-transporters. However, SSU operatives timely exposed the collaborator and apprehended her.
According to the investigation, the illegal transportation was organized by a resident of Zaporizhzhia, who had previously served a sentence for robbery. He engaged two acquaintances in his unlawful activities, responsible for finding clients and managing illicit financial transactions.
According to available information, the illicit operations yielded profits of up to 1 million UAH monthly.
Currently, all three suspects have been informed of suspicion under Article 332, Parts 2 and 3, of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine). The investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime and hold those responsible accountable.
The investigation was conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Zaporizhzhia region in collaboration with the National Police, under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor's office.
