From Moldova to Ukraine, a resident of Zaporizhzhia was extradited, suspected of establishing and spreading criminal influence and extorting money from inmates. According to investigators, the man was expanding his influence over the pre-trial detention facility in Zaporizhzhia, organized channels for the entry of drugs and banned items, and also instructed others to demand money from inmates. These details were disclosed on December 11 by the press services of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the Office of the General Prosecutor, and the Main Directorate of the National Police in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
According to the investigation, a 37-year-old resident of Zaporizhzhia, previously convicted multiple times and known by the nickname ‘Lyekar,’ coordinated the actions of inmates in the local SIZO: while in the SIZO, the man gained influence among inmates, violating established rules; he organized channels for the entry of drugs and banned items, coordinated their distribution; he gave instructions to trusted associates to humiliate and intimidate other inmates, and to demand money for the so-called common fund.
The suspect himself had been in the SIZO for a long time as part of a criminal proceeding on suspicion of attempted murder, but after a change of preventive measure, he illegally crossed the demarcation line with the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and traveled to Poland via Russia.
In July 2023, law enforcement officers informed the man of suspicion of establishing and spreading criminal influence and extortion of money from inmates (Part 2 of Article 255-1, Part 2 of Article 189 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and in March 2024 the indictment against the suspect was sent to court. The man had been hiding abroad for several years, but on December 8, 2025, coordinated by international police and Moldovan law enforcement authorities, the suspect was detained and extradited to Ukraine.
The court has now chosen detention as a preventive measure for the man. Under the charged articles, the suspect faces up to 15 years in prison.
Official statements regarding the extradition came from the press offices of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the Office of the General Prosecutor, and the National Police’s Main Directorate in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Chronicle of events and key facts
Extradition was the result of close intergovernmental cooperation between Moldova and Ukraine’s law enforcement authorities.