Ukraine Arrests Captain and Seizes Ship Smuggling Crimean Grain for Russia

The Security Service of Ukraine detained the captain of a cargo ship who helped Russians take Ukrainian grain from Crimea.

In the waters of Odesa, the security service detained a foreign cargo ship and its captain, who worked for the aggressor. The ship was sailing under the flag of one of the countries of Central Africa, and its crew was carrying out orders from the Russian Federation to export Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied Crimea.

According to the investigation, during 2023-2024, the ship repeatedly docked at the seaport of Sevastopol to pick up looted agricultural products. and then transported the cargo to the Middle East for sale.

The investigation established that the captain of the cargo ship was a citizen of one of the countries of the South Caucasus. The ship's crew additionally included 12 more foreigners.

To mask the crime, the captain periodically turned off the vessel's GPS tracker and entered false information into the log of the vessel's routes and stops.

On the basis of the received materials, the investigators of the Security Service informed the captain of the ship about suspicion under part 2 of Art. 332-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the procedure for entering and leaving the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine).

As part of the criminal proceedings, the suspect's vessel was towed to Odesa and arrested by court decision. An investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances of the crime.