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The Vladimir Region investigating bodies of the Russia’s Investigative Committee have finished a probe against leader of an organized criminal group, an Azerbaijan Azad Mamedov, 45 and 11 members of the gang. Depending on the role of each one, they are charged with 20 counts of fraud (part 4 of article 159 of the RF Penal Code), 5 murders (paragraphs “a”, “g”, “h” and “j” of part 2 of article 105) and a forgery of documents (part 3 of article 327), a theft (part 1, paragraph “c” of part 2 of article 158) and robbery (paragraph “d” of part 2 of article 161).

According to investigators in 2007, after having had served his time for illegal drug dealing in one of correctional facilities in Orenburg Region, Mamedov decided to stay in Russia. However, he had not corrected and intended to make his living by crimes - misappropriation of others’ flats that might involve killings of owners or tenants. For that purpose having some organizational skills, during 2009 he set up a stable organized criminal group in the city of Vladimir, in which he involved his close relatives, friends and individuals with no stable social attachments.

In the period between 2009 and 2013, the accomplices committed 25 serious and very serious crimes against persons and property. To attain his goal Mamedov established in his highly hierarchical and united group strict discipline and obedience to his orders. Their mission was to find flats inhabited by lonely alcohol addicts, get hold of their IDs and ownership documents for making illegal deals with honest buyers. Mebers of the group gained trust of such citizens, established relationships, supplied them with foodstuffs and alcohol, and them when the victim was absolutely under their control, they drugged them and took from the flat their IDs and all the documents needed for selling the flat. Some of the criminals forged passports, sale contracts, gift deeds, which were then signed by other members of the group on behalf of the owner or tenant and were filed with state bodies for registration. To cover their traces the criminals regularly changed their cars, cell phone numbers, residences and even moved to other regions, they lived using forged IDs of Russian citizens they made themselves. After the group had acquired the ownership of the flat the leader decided whether to move the victim or kill them, if there were problems threatening to reveal them. The black realtors had over 22 victims who lived in Vladimir, Sedogda District, Yaroslavl. From their illegal deals with flats they received over 40 million rubles which was divided between the members of the group by the leader. They committed 5 murders to hide the traces of their crimes.

In May 2013, a dead body of a 60-year-old woman with traces of strangulation was found in a ditch beside the road Vladimir – Yuryev – Polsky. It was revealed that the woman had lived alone in a single-room flat and had become the victim of the criminal gang of black realtors, who had been in haste to sell the flat, but could not find the place to move the woman. So they took her outside the city and killed. The two killers were caught on hot scent and from their statements the investigators understood that there was an organized group operating and a series of such crimes.

An investigative team, set up on the initiative of the investigations directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee jointly with officers of crime detection department and economic security and anti-corruption department of the regional office of the Russian Ministry of the Interior ran a number of complex activities to study archives of preliminary investigations opened in deaths of people and a number of criminal investigations opened in property frauds and suspended in different years. After exhumations complex forensic medical inquiries showed that the death of the victims buried as the ones died of natural cause had been the result of stifling with a pillow or the effect of psychotropic or narcotic drugs.

In all, there were 14 people prosecuted for those crimes committed while being members of the criminal group. Two of them are serving time in prison now for other crimes.

Following a request filed by investigators a court ruled to place the leader and 4 of the most active members of the gang in custody pending trial.

Due to efficient tactics and psychological contact the investigators made two of the defendants to cooperate with the investigation, which helped to reveal other crimes committed by the gang and identify other persons involved in the crimes.

One of them has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for swindling and forgery.

The investigators have gathered a considerable amount of evidence. At present all 81 volumes of the case against 12 defendants with the approved indictment of 3 thousand pages has been sent to court to be tried on the merits.