The partially chewed $200 removed from the mouth of the border guard officer.

A Ukrainian border guard at the Luzhanka border crossing point between Ukraine and Hungary tried to eat two $100 banknotes when nabbed by police for allegedly taking a bribe, the national police department on economic crimes reported on its Facebook page on Jan. 9.

It didn’t work. The partially chewed money was removed from his mouth and the border guard officer was arrested at his workstation.

He is accused of taking $1,000 bribe to turn a blind eye to the smuggling of cigarettes from Ukraine to the European Union, the report said.

The $200 was the last portion of the bribe, the police said, adding that they had caught the border guard accepting it red-handed. He could face from five to 10 years in prison for the crime.

Arrest of the border guard officer of Luzhanka border crossing point between Ukraine and Hungary on Jan. 9. He is accused of taking $1,000 bribe. (Facebook of the economic crimes department of the national police)

His arrest was a result of a joint operation by police in Zakarpattia Oblast, military prosecutors in western Ukraine, and the local department of the newly formed State Bureau of Investigation, which investigates crimes committed by top officials, law enforcement officials, the military, and judges.

Law enforcement are now to check the rest of staff of Luzhanka crossing point, located in Ukraine’s far west, to see whether they were also involved in corruption, the report said.