An extortion ring operating in a prison in Zhytomyr and run by prisoners serving life sentences has been uncovered
In Zhytomyr, police have uncovered a criminal influence scheme organised from within prisons. Those involved include prisoners serving life sentences, who had set up a system for extorting money from other inmates.
According to the investigation, the ringleader was a 55-year-old native of Donetsk Oblast, who is serving a life sentence and has over 20 years’ criminal history. He held the status of ‘smotryashchy’ (prison overseer).
His 40-year-old fellow countryman, who is serving a sentence for serious crimes and holds the status of ‘cell block overseer’, also joined the scheme. To carry out the scheme, the suspects enlisted the help of intermediaries who were at liberty.
The investigation established that, at the end of April, the suspects demanded that one of the newly arrived prisoners hand over 25,000 hryvnias to them.
They claimed that the reason for the demand was the victim’s alleged violation of ‘prison customs’. Specifically, this concerned receiving a parcel containing food without the knowledge of the prison authorities.
For over a month, the victim was under psychological pressure and perceived the threats as a real danger. Fearing the possible consequences, he told his wife about the demand to hand over the money.
