Operatives of the Migration Police Detained a Group of Foreigners for Imprisonment and Robbery Attack on a Blogger from Iran
Taking advantage of her vulnerable position, the defendants lured 100 thousand US dollars from the woman to obtain a migration status in Ukraine. In this way, they promised to help her avoid criminal prosecution in Iran for blogging allegedly contrary to the norms of morality in that country. Subsequently, in a rented apartment in Kiev, threatening a woman and her young child with a weapon, they forced them to transfer 25 bitcoins, namely 400 thousand US dollars, to their electronic wallet.
The Department of Migration Police together with the investigators of the Pechersk District Directorate of the Kyiv Police under the procedural guidance of the Pechersk District Prosecutor's Office conducted a police operation to expose the ethnic criminal group. The organizer of the criminal scheme was a 37-year-old native of Iran, his accomplices — two Iranian citizens who have lived in Ukraine for a long time.
“The leader of a criminal group in Turkey addressed the victim and said that in the near future, local law enforcement may detain her and extradite her to Iran for active blogging activities that allegedly contradict the moral norms of this country. After that, for 100 thousand US dollars, he offered to arrange for her and her child to cross the state border from Turkey to Ukraine and issue them the appropriate migration status in order to avoid extradition,” said the head of the Department of Migration Police of the National Police of Ukraine Sergey Panteleev.
When the victim and her daughter arrived in Ukraine, the organizer of the criminal scheme placed them in a rented apartment and planned to commit a robbery attack against the woman.
“To implement the criminal plan, the leader of the group attracted two more Iranian citizens who have been living in Ukraine for a long time. According to the victim, in the rented apartment where the victim was, they threatened her and her child with weapons and seized cryptocurrency - 25 bitcoins, which amounts to 400 thousand US dollars,” said Sergey Panteleev.
According to him, in order to hide the crimes committed against the woman, the organizer of the criminal scheme tried to take the victim and her child to Turkey. So law enforcement officers planned a special operation, as a result of which three defendants were detained. Authorized searches were conducted at their places of residence, during which evidence of their illegal activities was seized.
At this time, the leader of the group was reported on suspicion of committing two offenses - unlawful imprisonment or kidnapping of a person and robbery, and his two accomplices - of committing a robbery attack. After conducting investigative actions, additional qualification of the actions of detainees is possible. In case of proof of guilt, members of the criminal group face up to fifteen years in prison with confiscation of property.
Communications Department of the
National Police of Ukraine
(According to the materials of the Department of Migration Police)
