"Among the suspects involved in this scheme, those who will be detained, are the heads of the regional prosecutor's office, the key local SBU officers, current and former officers of the National Police, including top officials from the internal security department of the National Police in the region, and the head of the department for fighting economic crimes, plus a number of plain criminals," Avakov said at a Kyiv briefing late Monday.
The Minister said that officials from the local government vertical were involved in the scheme of illegal extraction of amber.
"It is important to note that this operation has been ongoing for a few weeks. In most cases, unscrupulous and shocking facts have been recorded," Avakov said.
Read alsoUkrainian "Klondike": "Amber People's Republic" thrivingIn this regard, the minister said that the evidence would be made public after the decisions of the Prosecutor General's Office.
"However, the first results of searches of the deputy prosecutor of the region have shown that he stored gold bars and a large collection of expensive wristwatches, as well as bags filled with amber and cash," Avakov said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) Larysa Sargan reported about the detention of deputy regional prosecutor Andriy Borovyk, who is suspected of organizing a criminal group for illegal extraction of amber in Rivne region.
