An alleged Russian organized crime kingpin has been arrested in Ukraine on suspicion of illegal border-crossing and planning to obtain control over criminal groups in the country.



Ukrainian police said on January 9 that the 57-year-old male, a Russian citizen born in Georgia who is nicknamed Kamo Moskovsky, had been crowned in 1983 as "a thief by law," a title traditionally given among Russian-speaking criminal groups to kingpins.



According to the statement, Kamo Moskovsky has spent about 30 years in Russian prisons for various crimes. He was most recently released from incarceration in October 2019.



He was detained on January 5 and placed at an immigration center for six months while a decision on his possible deportation and a five-year ban on entering Ukraine is pending, the statement says.