It seems logical: the border with Slovakia is nearby, the area is forested, knowledgeable people — why not shorten the route? In reality, this “shortened road” ended with clients being detained a few kilometers from the border, and the organizers facing suspicions under two articles of the Criminal Code. The National Police exposed a group in Zakarpattia that for money smuggled military reservists and active servicemen to Slovakia outside official checkpoints.
The organizer of the scheme was a 55-year-old resident of Zakarpattia. She involved five more people from Zakarpattia and Ivano-Frankivsk regions aged from 38 to 61 years.
Price list: from 6 to 32 thousand dollars
The price depended on the route and the “complexity of the client.” According to the investigation, they charged from $6,000 to $32,000 per person.
The most expensive cases involved active servicemen. In one episode, the suspect gave a €1,000 bribe to a serviceman to get a mobilized soldier out of the unit, and the full cost of the “service” was supposed to be $32,000. Another serviceman, who last October left the unit without permission, was agreed to be smuggled for $18,000 — he was brought by car from Ivano-Frankivsk to Uzhhorod and placed in a rented apartment.
How the conveyor worked
The scheme was organized as a full-cycle service. Group members found clients, transported them to Zakarpattia, rented temporary housing (including apartments in Uzhhorod), delivered men to the border zone, and coordinated crossing the border outside checkpoints.
The final point of the route was Slovakia. It was there, through the “green” border, that the suspects planned to take their clients. But on August 3, law enforcement detained one of the servicemen along with drivers near the state border — he never reached Slovakia.
What was seized and what threatens
During searches in Zakarpattia and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, police seized over 1 million hryvnias in various currencies, bank cards, mobile phones, rough notes, and a car.
The suspects were notified of suspicion under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
part 3 of article 332 — illegal smuggling of persons across the state border of Ukraine, committed by an organized group;
part 3 of article 369 — giving an unlawful benefit to an official.
For Ukrainians who already live legally in Slovakia, this news is another reminder: proximity to the border does not make illegal “channels” safe. Clients of such schemes lose tens of thousands of dollars, risk criminal liability, and often end up in the hands of the police still on the Ukrainian side of the border. The only legal way remains — through checkpoints with proper documents. This way provides both safety and the opportunity to legalize further in Slovakia.
