Losses of one and a half million UAH. In Vinnytsia region, a group of illegal loggers was uncovered.

In Vinnytsia, four residents have been identified as suspects in illegal logging and profiting from it. The total amount of damage to the environment is estimated at one and a half million hryvnias. This was reported by the spokesperson of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Vinnytsia region, Zarina Maievska.

According to the investigation, the men were engaged in illegal logging from January to July 2024. After that, they sold the firewood obtained from the felled trees. The overall leadership of the group was carried out by a 43-year-old resident of the Haisyn district, who looked for buyers and managed the money.

During the investigation, law enforcement conducted more than 30 searches, during which they seized three million hryvnias in national and foreign currency, bank cards, mobile phones, chainsaws, records, laptops, tablets, a computer, and tags for timber.

The main suspect, believed to be the organizer of the criminal group, faces criminal liability for organizing illegal logging and selling timber, according to articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Other members of the criminal group have been charged with illegal logging, transportation, storage, and sale of timber. For these crimes, they face up to seven years in prison.