Ternopil, Ukraine, May 4, 2020
Photo: strana.ua
Officers uncovered a criminal group that committed a number of thefts of icons from churches throughout Ukraine in 2018-2020, reports the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The National Police exposed the interregional group under the leadership of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Ternopil Province.
According to investigators, the last theft took place on April 30 from a church in the village of Mikhailovka in the Vinnitsa Province, when three icons from 1860 were stolen.
The police conducted more than 13 searches in Odessa, Kiev, and Khmelnitsky, resulting in the identification and seizure of a large number of icons, money, cars, and more.
The organizer and two perpetrators of the crimes are currently detained, and other individuals are under investigation, the authorities said in the statement.
