Smuggling elite watches worth UAH 11 million: a group of 11 people detained

Law enforcement agencies have exposed a criminal group of 11 people involved in smuggling luxury watches from Hong Kong, China, and the United Arab Emirates. This was reported by UNN with reference to the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Details

As the investigation established, from July 2024 to June 2025, members of an organized criminal group, which included conductors of an international train, transported elite watches of the brands "Audemars Piguet" and "Rolex", purchased in Hong Kong, China, and the UAE, across the customs border of Ukraine.

The goods were hidden in the train cars and imported without customs control for further sale in Ukraine through a closed-type store in Kyiv. The total value of the smuggled goods exceeded 11 million hryvnias.

During the searches, investigators found and seized documents, mobile phones, and the smuggled items themselves, confirming the group's involvement in committing criminal offenses.

The detainees were notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 201-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Smuggling of goods committed by an organized group). The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment from seven to eleven years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and with confiscation of property.

The court chose a preventive measure: for the organizer - detention with an alternative bail of 9 million hryvnias, for two other accomplices - detention with an alternative bail of 908 thousand hryvnias each, for others - round-the-clock house arrest, night house arrest, and personal obligation.

Recall

In Lviv region, border guards uncovered large-scale smuggling of equipment worth 8 million hryvnias, mostly iPhone 17. The largest batch was found at the Shehyni checkpoint, where 148 iPhones of various models were attempted to be transported.