In Mykolaiv, law enforcement officers detained two men suspected of extorting $7,000 from a local resident, regional police reported.
According to the investigation, the 50-year-old man initially demanded 5,000 hryvnias from the victim, but later the “debt” grew to several thousand dollars. Threatening physical violence, he stated that he would sell his wife’s car, which the applicant was using, if he did not receive the money. He involved a 44-year-old acquaintance to implement the plan.
During the meeting with the victim, the suspects began to beat the man, threaten him with a weapon, and one of them even fired several shots into the air, after which he pointed a gun at the victim. At this point, police investigators and special forces intervened and detained the attackers.
Both men were taken into custody under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Investigators, in agreement with the prosecutor's office, charged them under Part 4 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - extortion committed by a group of persons with the use of violence and threats in wartime. The sanction of the article provides for up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The court has already ordered the suspects to be held in custody without bail. The police are investigating their possible involvement in other similar crimes.
The investigation is ongoing.
