16 tonnes of food additives under the guise of aid for the AFU: ESBU completed the investigation

 A commercial cargo worth nearly 58 million UAH was attempted to be imported into Ukraine under the guise of humanitarian aid for the AFU. Detectives from the Territorial Office of the ESBU in the Volyn region completed an investigation into the illegal movement of over 16 tonnes of food additives across the state border.

According to the investigation, a Volyn resident organized the movement of the goods through the "Yahodyn" customs post. To carry out the transportation, he involved two citizens of the Republic of Poland, who were unaware of the illegal nature of the cargo.

During the customs clearance of the goods as humanitarian aid, documents with false information were used, which allowed avoiding the payment of customs duties. Subsequently, the products were planned to be sold in the territory of Ukraine.

During the investigation, detectives found that the charitable foundation through which the goods were imported was absent from its legal address, and its head has been outside Ukraine since 2023. At the same time, the Hungarian company indicated in the documents as a donor was actually not conducting activity at the time of the import of the food additives.

In the vehicle used to transport the goods, detectives detected and seized about 400 items of food additives with a total weight of over 16 tonnes. Among them were vitamins, dietary and sports supplements, and amino acids. An arrest has been imposed on the seized goods and the property of the accused.

The Volyn resident was notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 201-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (smuggling of goods committed on a large scale).

The pretrial investigation is completed. The indictment, together with a plea bargain agreement, has been sent to court.

Operational support is carried out by employees of the Department of the SSU in the Volyn region, and procedural guidance is carried out by prosecutors of the Volyn Regional Prosecutor's Office.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a court verdict.