A group involved in illegal mining has been uncovered in the Carpathian region: the losses amount to almost 50 million hryvnias

In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, law enforcement officers have uncovered an organised criminal group whose members are suspected of illegally extracting sand and gravel, a mineral resource of national importance.

Investigators from the Main Department of the National Police in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, with operational support from SBU officers in the region and under the procedural guidance of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office, established that, according to the pre-trial investigation, four people were involved in the scheme.

According to the investigation, the illegal activities were organised by a 54-year-old and a 42-year-old resident of Sniatyn. Starting in April 2025, they, as law enforcement officials claim, formed an organised criminal group and recruited two further accomplices – a 33-year-old and a 36-year-old resident of the Kolomyia district.

Investigators believe that the suspects established an illegal operation for the extraction, processing and sale of minerals. According to the police, roles were clearly divided among the participants: some were responsible for organising the scheme, finding buyers and selling the raw materials, whilst others were responsible for extraction, processing, sorting and transportation.

Where the scheme operated

Investigators established that the sand and gravel mixture was illegally extracted from agricultural land in the village of Khutir-Budyliv, Kolomyia district. According to law enforcement, the raw materials were subsequently processed and sold to customers for money.

To operate the scheme, as noted by the police, heavy mechanised machinery and specialised equipment were used. Specifically, this included excavators, lorries and devices for crushing the sand and gravel mixture.

What losses were incurred and what was seized

According to preliminary estimates, this activity caused damage to the natural environment totalling almost 50 million hryvnias.

As part of the criminal proceedings, law enforcement officers carried out authorised searches. During the investigative operations, the following were seized:

• trucks and specialised machinery;

• equipment used for the illegal extraction and processing of raw materials;

• other material evidence.

What are the suspects accused of?

Based on the evidence gathered, investigators have notified all four members of the group that they are under suspicion. They are charged with a criminal offence under Part 4 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – violation of the rules governing the protection or use of subsoil resources, and the illegal extraction of minerals, committed by an organised group.

The court has already imposed preventive measures on all four suspects. Two of them have been remanded in custody with the right to post bail, whilst the other two have been placed under round-the-clock house arrest.

A pre-trial investigation is currently underway. Law enforcement officers are establishing all the circumstances of the group’s activities, possible accomplices, and the channels through which the illegally extracted raw materials were sold.

As a reminder, a distribution channel for kratom was uncovered in Zaporizhzhia, and over a tonne of the substance was seized.