A court has recognized the evidence gathered by the Saint-Petersburg Main Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee sufficient to convict former senior operative of 24th department of Nevsky District Office of Interior Ministry Sergey Lukyanchikov, 10 members of the criminal group led by him and two local residents. Depending on the role of each one, they were charged with crimes under parts 1 and 3 of article 210 of the RF Penal Code (membership in a criminal society); paragraphs “a” and “d” of part 3 of article 228.1 (illegal drug dealing), paragraphs “a” and “b” of part 3 of article 286 (exceeding office).
The court and investigators found that in 2009, in Saint-Petersburg Lukyanchikov set up and headed a criminal group for illegal drug dealing on large and especially large scales in Nevsky District. It was a well-organized and highly united group, with clear-cut distribution of duties among the members, close ties with corrupted officials of the Nevsky District Office of Interior Ministry, proven scheme of operations and strict hierarchy.
In the period between December 2009 and January 2011, they committed over 10 especially serious crimes related to illegal drug dealing in Saint-Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.
The court has sentenced Lukyanchikov and Ilya Ilyin, the leader of one of the units of the criminal society, to 15 years to be served in a maximum-security penal colony. The rest of the members were got different sentences, including suspended ones.
Andrey Petrov, a member of the group, who had concluded a pre-trial cooperation deal, was earlier sentenced to 6 years and 2 months to be served in a maximum-security penal colony.
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