Smuggling of jewelry and Swiss watches: ESBU detectives notify 11 members of an organized group of suspicion

 Detectives of the Main Detective Unit of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine have exposed an organized crime group that established a system for moving high-value luxury items across Ukraine’s state border by concealing them from customs control.

The group consisted of 11 individuals, including five employees of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia (Ukrainian Railways) and the owners of a private company.

The investigation established that to evade customs duties and other mandatory payments, branded jewelry and Swiss watches were smuggled into the country. The luxury goods were purchased in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, and other locations. They were subsequently transported to the Republic of Poland and handed over to conductors of the "Warsaw–Kyiv" "Kyiv–Warsaw" international passenger train.

Jewelry and Swiss watches were hidden in the structural cavities of the train cars to be moved across the border. In Kyiv, these items were sold in the suspects' own store for cash, bank transfers, and cryptocurrency.

Law enforcement officers conducted authorized searches of the train, the store, and the suspects' residences, seizing branded contraband products and $800,000 in cash. The total value of the seized smuggled jewelry and watches exceeds $10 million.

ESBU detectives have notified 11 members of the criminal group of suspicion for committing a criminal offense under Part 3 of Article 201-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (the movement of goods—excluding excise goods and electricity—across the customs border of Ukraine by concealing them from customs control, committed on a significant scale by an organized group).

By court order, a seizure has been placed on the suspects' property purchased with proceeds from criminal activity, including vehicles and a yacht. Preventive measures have been imposed on the suspects.

Operational support was provided by officers of the Main Directorate "D" of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). Procedural guidance was provided by prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General.