Tried to export artillery installations worth $1.5 million: businessman detained in Mykolaiv for cooperation with Russia
The Security Service of Ukraine reported the exposure of a businessman from the Mykolaiv region who was trying to illegally export components for naval artillery systems to Russia. The value of the seized weapons was estimated at almost 1.5 million US dollars.
This was reported by the press service of the SBU.
According to the investigation, during the war, the businessman acquired various types of artillery systems – from six-barreled AO-18 assault rifles to universal AK-176M installations, which are used on warships to destroy drones and cruise missiles. To disguise the cargo, he hid it in specially made containers that resembled water heating boilers.
To transport weapons abroad, the attacker entered into fictitious contracts with controlled companies in the EU and Southeast Asia, from where the artillery was to reach the aggressor state.
SBU officers stopped the deal at the preparation stage. During searches of warehouses and offices, artillery installations in containers, additional components for military boats, and documentation with foreign enterprises were seized.
The seized weapons will be transferred for the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
The suspect has already been charged under articles of the Criminal Code regarding preparation for weapons smuggling by a group of individuals. He is in custody and faces up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
The investigation is ongoing to identify all those involved in the scheme.
By the way, in the Kyiv region, counterintelligence of the Security Service detained agents of Russian special services who were sending Ukrainian SIM cards for enemy drones to the Russian Federation.
Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine exposed and detained an instructor major from one of the air brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine , who turned out to be an agent of Russian intelligence. The suspect was preparing strikes on Ukrainian airfields where F-16, Mirage 2000 and Su-24 aircraft are based.
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