Police shut down channel for draft dodgers in Odesa region

In Odesa region, law enforcement officials have shut down a channel that allowed draft dodgers to leave the country under the guise of truck drivers.

This was reported by the Department of Strategic Investigations of the National Police on Facebook, according to Ukrinform.

Operatives from the Strategic Investigations Department in Odesa region discovered that the head of a company was helping men of conscription age to leave the country in exchange for a monetary reward by employing them as drivers for his company. The information about the new employees was then entered into the system, which provided them with the legal grounds for crossing the border freely.

Using these unlawfully obtained legal documents, the men would drive the company’s trucks to Moldova. Afterward, a different person would bring the vehicle back to Ukraine.

Based on the evidence obtained, investigators from the Main Investigative Department of the National Police in Odesa region have charged the head of the company that provides international freight services. His actions were classified under Part 2 of Article 332 (Illegal transfer of persons across the state border of Ukraine) and Part 3 of Article 362 (Unauthorized actions with information processed in automated systems, committed by a person with authorized access) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The court has imposed a preventive measure on the suspect in the form of detention, with the option to post bail of 1,816,800 UAH. The maximum punishment for the charges is up to 9 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

As reported by Ukrinform, since the full-scale invasion, border guards have uncovered more than 600 groups involved in illegally transferring people across the border.