In Starokostiantyniv, a serviceman was sentenced for attempting to mail artifacts up to 4,000 years old to the EU

In Starokostiantyniv, a serviceman was sentenced for attempting to mail artifacts up to 4,000 years old to the EU

In Starokostiantyniv, a smuggler who tried to send thousand-year-old artifacts by mail to Europe has been convicted.

The Starokostiantyniv District Court of Khmelnytskyi Oblast issued a verdict to local resident and serviceman Mykola Chayka, who attempted to smuggle unique cultural valuables to EU countries, including weapons nearly 4,000 years old and antique statuettes.

As follows from the case materials No. 683/87/26, from February to July 2023, the man under the pseudonym «Nicholas» systematically listed historical artifacts for sale on the popular international online auction «Violity». Having found buyers in Germany and France, he sent the antiquities via ordinary international parcels through the local «Ukrposhta» branch in Starokostiantyniv.

To avoid criminal liability, Mykola Chayka used fictitious sender names, including «Oleksandr Dovbyna» («Okexander Dovbuna»), and indicated non-existent or third-party addresses. The man had no permits or certificates authorizing the export of cultural valuables abroad.

However, none of the parcels reached the foreign buyers. All shipments were intercepted by Kyiv Customs officials during inspection.

What exactly did the smuggler try to export?

Expertise confirmed that the items seized by customs officials have significant historical value. Among the confiscated:
• Bronze dagger with openwork hilt (first half of the 2nd millennium BCE);
• Antique statuette of the god Serapis (2nd-3rd century CE);
• Miniature pendant-amulet in the form of an ax (11th-12th century);
• Coin-like pendant-amulet (11th-12th century);
• Serpent amulet (11th-16th century).

During the investigation, Mykola Chayka fully admitted his guilt, repented, and actively assisted in solving the crime. Considering that he had no prior convictions, is a serviceman, and has two minor children in his care, the prosecutor entered into a plea agreement with him.

 On March 5, 2026, the court approved this agreement, finding Chayka guilty of a completed attempt at smuggling cultural valuables (Part 2 of Art. 15, Part 1 of Art. 201 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

He was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment, but the court released him from actual incarceration, setting a probationary period (conditional) of 1 year.

All seized thousand-year-old artifacts are subject to special confiscation by court decision and will be transferred to state ownership.