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Three residents of Krasnodarskiy krai are charged with organizing and murdering businessmen committed in the early 2000s

Investigative Authorities of the Investigative Committee of Russia for Krasnodarskiy krai detained three male citizens of Sochi, aged between 43 and 73, implicated in organization of murders in the resourt city at early 2000.  Depending on contribution of each, they are charged with organizing the murders of two businessmen (Part 3 Article 33, paragraph «h» Part 2 Article 105, Part 3 Article 33, paragraphs «а, h» Part 2 Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and other homicides, including the commission of crimes in a generally dangerous way and murders on hire (paragraphs «f, g, h» Part 2 Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

According to investigators, in 2001, one of the defendants who was 52 years old at that time, wanted to avenge two local businessmen for their unsuccessful attempt to take his life. Therefore, together with an accomplice he decided to organize their murder. At the same time, the defendant’s acquaintance pursued the goal of taking possession of the victims' outdoor concession stands, too, these outdoor concession stands were located within the resort area of Adlerskiy rayon, Sochi. In order to execute the crime, the organizers involved a local resident. They instructed him to kill one of the businessmen for money, to which the local resident agreed. According to the assigned roles, the organizers provided the performer with valid information about the location of the victim. On the evening of September 4, 2001, in order to realize the attack, the executor armed with a pistol, caught a 37-year-old man near one of the restaurants in Lenin Street in Adlerskiy rayon  of Sochi and shot him 4 times. The victim died on the scene from the wounds.

In March 2002, the organizers the organizers hired a local resident for the murder of the second businessman in exchange for a monetary reward. At the time of the crime, he was 24 years old. Having received his consent the organizers provided the killer with valid information about the victim's location. Having tracked the victim’s car near the spa resorts, in the evening of March 23, 2002, the defendant fired 3 gunshots from a pistol with a silencer at the man who was in the front passenger seat of the car. The victim died from his injuries in the hospital that night, where he was taken by eyewitnesses of the crime. Both daring contract killings were committed with a large gathering of witnesses, but despite this, the criminals managed to escape.

Additionally, in May 2002, during a domestic conflict, the 44-year-old defendant and his acquaintance, committed another murder of a local Sochi resident, The defendant and his accomplice hit the victim in the head with gas wrench and a wooden bat 16 times.

For a long time, the perpetrators of these crimes could not be identified. Thanks to the well- coordinated and persistent work of the investigators of the regional directorate of the ICR on the cases of previously committed crimes, and with the operational support of the Officers of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the region, it became possible to identify the involvement of the defendants in the crimes committed. After professionally performed interrogations, the witnesses were able to provide the investigators with some valuable details that helped to trail the clients and the perpetrators of the killings even after 20 years.

Currently, on the motion of the Investigator, one of the clients of a contract killing and two executors are imposed a restrain as custody, the second client of a contract killing has fled from the preliminary investigation authorities, and therefore has been put on the international wanted list. Within the criminal investigation all necessary procedures are being carried out aimed at identifying all the circumstances of the crimes. The investigation believes that this stable armed criminal group has been actively operated on the territory of Sochi for a long time, therefore its other members and other episodes of their criminal activity are being currently identified. Criminal investigation continues.