Ukrainians arrested in Poland for beating and kidnapping migrants
Photo: Ukrainians who kidnapped migrants were detained in Poland (cbsp.policja.pl)
Four Ukrainian citizens have been detained in Poland on suspicion of a series of brutal kidnappings of migrants for ransom. The oldest of the suspects is 40 years old, the youngest is 20, RMF24 reports.
Law enforcement officials stated that all four were legally residing in Poland. According to their information, the suspects organized the illegal transportation of migrants who entered the European Union through Belarus.
The gang's activities became known in mid-June after a humanitarian organization contacted Poland's Central Bureau of Investigation. Activists had received a message in English about the abduction of two Ethiopian citizens. The criminals demanded ransom in cryptocurrency, threatening to kill the abductees or sell their organs. The message included photos of the men tied up and naked.
According to the investigation, the kidnappers used weapons, took money and phones from the victims, and then transported them in a car trunk to the town of Lubin. The victims' families were sent ransom demands. The abducted men managed to escape and were spotted by local residents, who notified border guards.
After this, part of the gang fled to Latvia, where they abducted three citizens of Mali. The criminals tied up the men, severely beat one of them, tied him to a tree, and recorded the torture on video, which they sent to the family along with a ransom demand.
Polish police, together with law enforcement agencies from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, identified the suspects. At the end of June, with the participation of counterterrorism units, three gang members were detained on a highway near Ostrów Mazowiecka, and the fourth in the town of Skwierzyna in Lubusz Voivodeship.
According to law enforcement, the oldest woman is 40 years old, the youngest perpetrator is 20.
All detainees have been charged with creating an organized criminal group, kidnapping for ransom, and illegal border crossing. Three of them have been taken into temporary custody. According to the investigation, some gang members are still at large.
Other detentions of Ukrainians in Poland
Earlier in Poland, a Ukrainian citizen was detained on suspicion of illegally transporting migrants from France to the United Kingdom.
Polish police also detained a Ukrainian citizen who was transporting 12 suspected illegal migrants in a bus.
In addition, three Ukrainians were detained in Poland on suspicion of terrorism. The Ukrainians allegedly threatened to carry out a terrorist attack in Warsaw during ceremonies marking the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II.
