An armed clash broke out among a group of unidentified individuals on the territory of the Zhytomyrski Lasoschi confectionery factory i n the early hours of Jan. 5, the police arrested 134 participants of the conflict.
A grenade; traumatic and gas guns; bullets and cartridges; knives; metal and wooden batons were seized at the scene, the website of the National Police’s main department in Zhytomyr region reported.
“Around 0100, the Zhytomyr police department received a report from the director general of CJSC Zhytomyrski Lasoschi that sounds of shooting were heard on the territory of the factory; an unknown group tried to break into the premises of the factory. As they were doing so, they clashed with representatives of the other side of the conflict,” the source said.
The police have established that around 60 people broke into the territory of the factory, and were stirring unrest.
Law-enforcers have put an end to the clash and the attempts of the unknown individuals to break into the premises of the factory.
A total of 134 people were arrested on the territory of the enterprise and nearby. They were brought to the Zhytomyr city police department. The detainees include residents of the following Ukrainian regions: Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv; 90 percent of those arrested have criminal records or are undergoing criminal proceedings.
A criminal case has been opened. It has been preliminary qualified as hooliganism.
In addition, at 0910, thepolice received an anonymous report that an explosive device was planted on the premises of the factory. Police officers are working at the scene. Evacuation of people from potentially dangerous territories is underway. Experts on explosives and sniffer dogs are searching the area.
As reported, a conflict around the rights to control the Zhytomyr co nfectionery factory between its current and former owners escalated in the evening of December 30, 2015. Police used additional forces to prevent possible violent scenarios, as there was information that a group of unknown individuals had arrived at the factory.
In the evening of December 30, shareholders of CJSC Zhytomyrski Lasoschi said that they couldn’t enter the premises of the factory. They had substantiated their right of ownership by the ruling of Ukraine’s Higher Administrative Court dated December 23, 2015.
What is more, shareholders had already started inventorying the assets. The factory had been taken under the protection of the State Guard Department and had started the planned business activities.
At the same time, the press service of the legal entity, double liability company, ZhL claimed these actions were illegal. According to the website of this company, Ihor Boiko and Yuriy Leschynsky were citizens of the U.S. The company claimed that CJSC Zhytomyrski Lasoschi owned only old equipment and a “possibility to produce unknown goods.” All the brands, including the trade mark Zhytomyrski Lasoschi are registered with Boiko. New brands – Zhytomir Sweets – belong to Boiko’s trading house.
The conflict between Yuriy Leschynsky and Ihor Boiko around the ownership rights to the factory has lasted since 2010.
The confectionery factory in Zhytomyr was founded in 1944, its assortment includes more than 250 names. The total production capacity is 80,000 tonnes of products a year; the factory operates 28 production lines.
