Sand was illegally mined on a special vessel: crew members face imprisonment (photo)

Police investigators have completed an investigation into the illegal extraction of 8,000 tons of sand from the Desna River. Three members of the crew of a special vessel will be tried.

As a result of such actions, environmental damage amounted to more than 6 million UAH. Three employees of a private joint-stock company who were part of the crew of a specialized vessel face up to eight years in prison, the National Police of Ukraine reports.

According to the investigation, in August 2023, the defendants, while providing services to another enterprise, arbitrarily extracted more than 8,000 tons of sand outside the permitted coordinates of the deposit and in violation of the established depths. The extracted sand was loaded onto a barge and moved to a storage location in Kyiv. The work was carried out within the Oseshchynsk and Desnyansko-Verkhnye deposits in the Kyiv region.

“The employees of the enterprise committed a criminal offense under Part 4 of Art. 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – illegal extraction of local minerals on a large scale. The investigators informed them of the suspicion,” the report says.

As part of the criminal proceedings, the injured party filed a civil lawsuit to recover the damage caused. In this regard, an arrest was initiated on the property of the accused and the enterprise that carried out illegal work.

The indictment has now been sent to court for consideration on the merits.