Law enforcement officers managed to detain a group of criminals who set fire to residential buildings and apartments throughout Ukraine for a monetary reward. This was reported by the press service of the National Police of Ukraine, UNN reports .
Such a "service" could be ordered in a telegram channel, costing from $500 to $3,000. The arsonists developed a plan to commit the crime: they reconnoitered the area, purchased fuel and lubricants, and made Molotov cocktails. They could spend the next ten years behind bars,
Details
Law enforcement officers identified the organizers of the criminal group, 20-year-old and 26-year-old residents of Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. They engaged nine residents of Kyiv and Zhytomyr regions aged 17 to 34 to do the dirty work, accepted orders for arsons and distributed the money received for committing crimes among the members of the organized crime group.
The defendants organized a visit to the scene anywhere in the country and threw Molotov cocktails at houses and apartments, filming the arson of other people's property. The video was sent to customers as proof of completion. The price for the service was between $500 and $3,000.
Thus, the attackers managed to damage four apartments and five houses in Chernihiv, Poltava, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, and Kyiv regions.
The National Police investigators conducted 24 searches at the residences of the group members and collected indisputable evidence of involvement in the serial arsons of all eleven members of the criminal group. Among other things, they seized ammunition, more than $10,000 in various currencies, mobile phones used to receive orders and film the crimes, and bank cards used to transfer funds for the crimes.
Under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor General's Office, all members of the criminal group, including the organizers, were served a notice of suspicion of intentional destruction or damage to property committed by arson by an organized group (Part 3 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The suspects were served with motions to impose round-the-clock house arrests as a measure of restraint. They face up to ten years in prison.
Recall
Two criminals aged 20 and 17 were detained for setting fire to railway equipment in Ternopil region for a reward paid via crypto wallets, allegedly involving Russian special services.