Prosecutors of the Odesa Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the field of defense of the Southern region informed a border service inspector of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — organizing the illegal crossing of the border by military conscripts.

According to the investigation, in October 2025, the inspector offered a friend a monetary reward to smuggle military conscripts to the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldovan Republic, bypassing official checkpoints.

The friend was to find those willing to leave, while the suspect, using official information about patrol routes and sections of the border, would deliver them to the crossing point and organize the smuggling. For the “services,” the inspector proposed charging $5,000 per person. 

The friend immediately contacted law enforcement and subsequently acted under their control. In November 2025, the inspector was detained after receiving $15,000 allegedly for smuggling three men. 

The suspect is currently in custody. At the prosecutor's request, the inspector has been suspended from his position. He faces imprisonment for a term of 7 to 9 years, with confiscation of property and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 3 years.

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by the Second Investigative Department of the Territorial Administration of the State Bureau of Investigations (located in Odesa), in Mykolaiv, with operational support from the Internal Security Department of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine in the Odesa region.

Note: According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.