Border guards at the Melitopol railway border crossing in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of southeastern Ukraine have detained three individuals from Crimea who were carrying UAH 5 million, reports the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on their website, April 17.
These sums were being transported to the Ukrainian mainland by three residents of Sevastopol who were on the Sevastopol-Dnipropetrovsk train. During the border control, border guards determined there was sufficient reason to examine the personal belongings of the passengers more thoroughly. A search uncovered almost UAH 5 million hidden in the suitcases. According to the border guards, this operation was clearly prepared in advance, since the cash was hidden in double bottoms of the luggage.
The individuals were turned over to the Security Service (SBU) for further investigation on the sources and purposes of this money.
On April 15, the Border Guard Service arrested a boy and three girls, all under 30, at the same border checkpoint, who were carrying close to UAH 2 million into the Ukrainian mainland.
During the passport control, the passengers “acted very arrogantly,” saying they were on their way to a “wedding in Khokhlandia” (note: pejorative Russian term for Ukraine), the service reports. However, during subsequent examination these individuals began to flounder in their responses. Given the fact that controls have been tightened over passengers attempting to enter the mainland using real Ukrainian passports at the Crimean border, the border guards conducted a more thorough search. It turned out each passenger was carrying a significant amount of cash. They admitted they were couriers and were delivering money to pay for anti-Ukrainian demonstrations in the eastern regions of Ukraine.
Sources: http://dpsu.gov.ua/ua/about/news/news_3860.htm
http://dpsu.gov.ua/ua/about/news/news_3860.htm
