Illegal Sand Extraction in Odesa: New Court Proceedings
Prosecutors from the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office have submitted an indictment to the court against participants of a criminal group engaged in illegal sand extraction from a deposit near the village of Bessarabskoye (formerly Tarutino) in the Bolgrad district. The area of the quarry where the illegal extraction occurred is 67 hectares.
The group is charged with illegal extraction of local mineral resources and money laundering (part 4 of article 240, parts 1 and 2 of article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Investigators established that the group members conducted sand extraction without any permits using heavy machinery, later selling it as a legitimate business.
The criminals sold the extracted minerals to trusted buyers and at construction markets, creating the illusion of a fully legal operation.
The organizer of the scheme turned out to be a local entrepreneur involved in the trade of construction materials. He recruited two acquaintances who operated the machinery at the quarry and a driver for transporting the sand.
As a result of their illegal activities, the environment suffered damages amounting to nearly 900 thousand UAH.
The offenders were detained in September 2024 while illegally extracting mineral resources.
The pre-trial investigation was carried out by the investigators of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Odesa region, with operational support from the Criminal Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine.
Note: According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a legal manner and established by a court verdict.
