In the Kherson region, police detained four suspects in more than 10 large grain thefts.
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This was reported by the communications department of the Kherson region police.
Since August 2016, this group of people has been stealing grain crops from unguarded storage facilities and other premises of farms, enterprises and individuals in the region.
The organizer of the group turned out to be a 37-year-old resident of Kherson, previously convicted of robbery. His accomplices were residents of the Dnepropetrovsk and Transcarpathian regions aged 24 to 35 years, previously convicted of theft, causing bodily harm and selling drugs.
Before committing the next crime, the group members carried out “reconnaissance” of the area in three Audi A8, Chevrolet Aveo and VAZ-2109 cars. Having chosen a warehouse away from populated areas, the attackers, using rented KamAZ vehicles, removed from 2 to 30 tons of agricultural products (wheat, sunflower, barley, corn and soybeans) at a time. At the same time, they set up observation posts on the roads and scattered homemade spikes to damage tires. The group members sold grain to elevators in the Kherson and Nikolaev regions, and divided the proceeds among themselves.
During a special operation, the attackers were detained in the Novovorontsovsky district when they tried to remove 25 tons of sunflower seeds from a warehouse.
The suspects were detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and are in a temporary detention center. A number of examinations have been scheduled to establish the amount of material damage caused to farms.
Information about their involvement in similar crimes in Zaporozhye, Nikolaev, Kirovograd and Dnepropetrovsk regions is being verified. Criminal proceedings have been opened under Part 3 of Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (theft) – punishable by imprisonment for a term of 3 to 6 years.