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Investigation against organized criminal group of Drug Control Service officials finished in Vologda Region

The Vologda Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have finished investigating a criminal case against members of an organized criminal group of the officials of the Vologda Region office of the Federal Drug Control Service.

Depending on the role of each one, 12 members of the organized criminal group are charged with crimes under article 111 of the RF Criminal Code (deliberate grievous bodily harm), paragraph “a” of part 4 of article 158 (theft), article 159 (swindling), article 161 (robbery), article 2281 (drug trafficking), article 285 (abuse of official powers), article 286 (exceeding official powers), article 290 (bribery), part 3 of article 303 (forgery of evidence in a criminal investigation), article 307 (knowingly false testimony). The indictment includes from 4 counts for a rank-and-file member of the group up to 118 counts for an organizer of the group.

According to investigators, Alexey Sovetov, being deputy chief of the Vologda Region office of the Federal Drug Control Service and the chief of Cherepovets interregional department, set up a criminal group of his subordinates and other people. In the period between 2007 and 2011 the group committed serious and especially serious crimes, which include theft of personal belongings and drugs from detainees, thefts, robberies, swindling, extortion of money from the detainees and their relatives for not prosecuting them; forgery of evidence in criminal investigations by planting drugs to the citizens. In addition, members of the group are incriminated with taking bribes for petitions to the court asking milder punishment or parole; taking bribes for general patronage and connivance in office from their subordinates; exceed of official powers during detention and inclination to confess to the crimes; illegal purchase, storage and dealing of different drugs and psychotropic substances. During the inquest investigators have found more than 150 cases of criminal activity by officials of Cherepovets interregional department of Vologda Region Directorate of Federal Drug Control Service and other persons, in which the Vologda Region Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have opened 104 criminal cases.

Investigators have also found criminal cases opened based on the results of the search and investigating operations conducted by officials of Cherepovets interregional department of Vologda Region Directorate of Federal Drug Control Service against 20 persons, where they found planted drugs to the suspects (accused), which were illegally obtained by the officials of the said directorate.

There are more than 100 volumes in the criminal case and more than 950 expert examinations have been run.

Criminal cases against 6 members of the criminal group were previously severed into separate law suits and verdicts have been passed under which the perpetrators were sentenced to long time in prison.

Investigators have gathered enough evidence and according the case with the approved indictment will be sent to court to be tried on the merits.

Head of Media Relations                                                                                             V.I. Markin