A man from Mykolaiv exploited people with disabilities, taking their social benefits and forcing them to beg on the streets (video).

After recruiting two socially vulnerable individuals – a man and a woman, the perpetrator took them to beg in crowded areas, subsequently collecting all donations.

This information is reported by the communication department of the Mykolaiv region police.

The criminal activities of the Mykolaiv resident were exposed and halted by the staff of the migration police and investigators from the investigative department, with the involvement of specialists from the regional police's criminal analysis department, under the procedural guidance of the Mykolaiv regional prosecutor's office.

Authorities discovered that the perpetrator had recruited two wheelchair users facing difficult life circumstances for his own enrichment. He promised the victims a permanent residence and well-paid work, to which they agreed. He hid them in his own house, provided guidance on “work,” and systematically transported them by car to public places with high foot traffic, where they begged in their wheelchairs until evening.

Throughout the day, the perpetrator monitored his “workers,” and in the evening, he collected all their “earnings” and brought them back home. He spent part of the money on food for the workers and vehicle maintenance, while keeping the majority for his personal needs. Additionally, the perpetrator took the victims' bank cards, which received social benefits, and used them at his discretion.

Police conducted authorized searches at the residence of the perpetrator, where the victims, a man and a woman with disabilities, lived, as well as in the vehicle used by the suspect. As material evidence, law enforcement seized cash amounting to over 11,000 hryvnias, mobile phones, documents, and bank cards for social benefits belonging to the victims, along with other items of interest to the investigation. Currently, the police have referred the victims to social services.

Investigators have informed the suspect of charges related to human trafficking, specifically the recruitment of individuals for exploitation, utilizing their vulnerable state, committed against several individuals (Part 2 of Article 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The perpetrator faces up to 12 years of imprisonment, with or without property confiscation.

At the request of the investigator and prosecutor, the court has chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention with the right to post bail set at 305,000 hryvnias.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.