Odesa detains fraudsters who extorted money from conscripts under the guise of SBU officers

In Odesa region, a group of criminals was detained who were pretending to be employees of the Security Service of Ukraine and military commissariat and extorting money from potential recruits. This was stated by the Security Service of Ukraine, reports UNN.

Details

The SBU Main Department of Internal Security, together with the National Police, neutralized a criminal group that terrorized residents of Odesa region. The criminals posed as officials of the Security Service and the military registration and enlistment office and "extorted" money from potential recruits.

SEE ALSO: Promised to "return from captivity": Kharkiv detained a fraudster who cheated the wife of a deceased soldier

The agency said that the men promised the victims not to prosecute them for allegedly evading mobilization in exchange for different amounts of "ransom".

The perpetrators have now been detained. They have been taken into custody and notified of suspicion under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: part 4 of Article 189 (extortion committed by an organized group under martial law), Article 146 (illegal imprisonment or abduction of a person) and Article 353 (unauthorized assignment of authority or title of an official).

Urgent investigative actions are underway to establish all the circumstances of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. The perpetrators face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

Addendum 

It is noted that comprehensive measures to neutralize the gang were carried out jointly with the National Police under the procedural guidance of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in the Military and Defense Sphere of the Southern Region.

The agency said that the detainees were carrying a fake ID of a Ukrainian special service officer to make their "legend" more convincing. Law enforcement officers recorded the fact that the gang members extorted $20,000 from a local resident.

In case of refusal to pay, the racketeers threatened to kidnap and physically assault him.

To recap,

The SBU detained a Kyiv resident who helped the FSB launch a missile attack on Kyiv University and reconnoitered military facilities; he now faces life in prison for high treason.

SEE ALSO: Filmed the work of air defense in Odesa: SBU detains tiktoker