Two individuals have been charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and preventive measures have been taken against them. The offenders face up to nine years of imprisonment with asset confiscation.

According to the investigation, two acquaintances, aged 65 and 25 from the Odesa region, attempted to smuggle a 46-year-old son-in-law of an elderly suspect across the border into a neighboring country.

As per their criminal scheme, the younger individual approached a border guard, offering $7,500 to facilitate the crossing of the client through a checkpoint into Moldova. The elderly man was supposed to pay the serviceman directly before the son-in-law crossed the border. However, the border guard reported their criminal intentions to law enforcement, leading to a documented operation by investigators and operatives.

Both suspects were arrested during the transaction: the younger one at his residence, and the older one as he handed over the bribe to the border guard. Investigators seized the cash, mobile phones, and vehicles of the detainees. Items of evidence will be subject to a court seizure. A protocol was drawn up against the 46-year-old man attempting to illegally cross the national border.

With sufficient evidence, investigators notified the suspects of charges under part 3 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for organizing illegal smuggling across the state border for selfish motives, and under part 3 of Article 369 for offering a bribe to a public official.

The maximum penalty for the suspects is nine years of imprisonment, with the possibility of asset confiscation. The court has chosen preventive measures in the form of detention with the right to bail totaling over 270,000 UAH. The investigation continues under the supervision of the Odesa specialized military prosecutor's office.