Border guards from the Podilsk Border Guard Detachment, in collaboration with operatives from the Southern Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, employees of the Security Service of Ukraine, and investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations, under the procedural guidance of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office, have dismantled another channel for the illegal transportation of people across the border. These actions were carried out within the framework of an open criminal investigation.

During the operation in the village of Obzhyly in the Podilsk district, law enforcement officers stopped a "convoy" consisting of four minibuses accompanied by a leading SUV with a driver and a passenger.

The suspects in the criminal case were attempting to transport 47 conscription-aged men from the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Rivne, Mykolaiv, Kherson, and Odesa regions to the state border.

It was established that the traffickers collected "clients" using Telegram channels and accounts. The money was transferred to various cryptocurrency wallets, with the service price ranging from $5,000 to $18,500 per person. Some trusting customers paid in full upfront, while others managed to pay an advance of half the declared amount. However, they received no guarantees from the illegal transporters. The buses were not equipped for transport; the men traveled on mattresses directly on the floor for about 100 kilometers.

Currently, investigative actions are ongoing, and the vehicles and items that may serve as evidence of illegal activities have been seized.

The organizer and accomplices have been served with notices of suspicion for committing a crime. Protocols on administrative offenses have been drawn up against the "clients" of the illegal journey, and the cases have been referred to the court.