In cooperation with the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and with the assistance of the Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Security Service prevented new attempts by ruscists to carry out a terrorist attack in Odesa. As a result of pre-emptive efforts, the smugglers acting on the FSB’s behalf have been detained. They were planning to deliver a fibre-optic-controlled strike UAV equipped with explosives to the port city.

According to the investigation, the smugglers had hidden the weapons among a bulk shipment of tobacco products that they were transporting illegally across the Black Sea from the temporarily occupied Abkhazia.

Their route ran through neutral waters near Zmiinyi Island, where the cargo was transferred from the main vessel to smaller boats for covert delivery to the Odesa coast.

The SSU documented the suspects’ every move and apprehended four perpetrators in the act of transporting the excise-taxable goods, along with weapons, to the Odesa port area.

The investigation revealed that the organiser of the smuggling ring is an Odesa businessman who currently resides abroad and is involved in illegal business activities in the temporarily occupied Abkhazia region.

In exchange for permission to engage in smuggling in the Caucasus, he agreed to cooperate with russia’s federal security service, the FSB.

At their request, the suspect agreed to deliver a strike drone to Odesa.

He recruited three individuals from Odesa and a local border guard to assist with the illegal operation. The border guard’s task was to ensure that the vessels could pass unimpeded to the coast of the regional centre.

On the return trip, the perpetrators were also to pick up the organiser’s brother in the city and transport him out of Ukraine by sea.

The detainees have been notified of their status as suspects under Article 332.2 of the CCU (illegal transportation of persons across Ukraine’s state border).

The decision to bring additional charges relating to the smuggling of weapons and excise goods is pending, as is the issuance of notices of suspicion to the other participants in the scheme.

A notice of suspicion is being prepared for the organiser of the scheme in absentia. The individuals involved face up to 12 years in prison and confiscation of property.

The special operation was conducted under the procedural supervision of the Odesa Region Prosecutor’s Office.