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| Caucasus |
| Chechen crime gang shut down |
| 2004-05-20 |
| Police have put an end to the activities of an interregional criminal organization in the Tver region, which specialized in illegal arms and drug trafficking. The backbone of the criminal organization was made of people coming from Chechnya, and it was led by a 34-year-old Chechen, the press service of the Russian Interior Ministry's main organized crime department said in a press release obtained by Interfax on Thursday. The group "arranged a steady channel for shipping firearms from the North Caucasus region to the Tver region and a number of neighboring regions for the needs of criminal structures," the press release reads. The leader and seven active members of the gang were detained in the Tver region. Two of these people were residing in the region illegally, the document says. The police found an identify card of "an officer of the Sharia security of Ichkeria" on the leader, it reads. The police are checking all the detainees to find out whether they were involved in illegal armed units in the North Caucasus region. Two Kalashnikov assault rifles, three handguns, about $4,000 and extremist Islamic literature were found during their arrest. Law enforcement agencies began receiving information on the criminal group about a year ago, the press release says. A preliminary investigation has determined that part of the money raised through illegal activities has been invested in real estate. "What is noticeable is that the members of the organized criminal group discussed all aspects of their unlawful activities in their native language for secrecy reasons," the press release reads. The investigative department of the Tver regional police department initiated a criminal case on the possession and sales of firearms by an organized group and possession of drugs. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |