Russian law enforcement officers detain 44 suspects of arson, sabotage throughout the week – Society and culture

MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. Russian Interior Ministry officers have detained 44 people on suspicion of arson and sabotage of administrative buildings in several regions of Russia over the past week, the TASS press service reported.

“In recent days, we have seen an increase in the number of deliberate crimes related to attempts to set fire and blow up administrative buildings and police cars and to destabilize the operations of banking and postal institutions in a number of regions of the country. Such crimes were recorded in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as in Moscow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Tver, Tula, Pskov, Krasnoyarsk, and Altai Regions, among others, between December 18 and 26, 55 illegal incidents were recorded, and 44 suspects were detained by internal affairs officers and other law enforcement agencies,” the press service said.

The agency noted that, in most cases, the perpetrators were elderly people. At the same time, according to the MAI, these crimes were also committed by young people: schoolchildren and students, in search of easy money. “It was revealed that the suspects were acting on instructions from anonymous supervisors, received over the phone or through messaging apps. Several criminal schemes were involved. As a rule, the perpetrators were incited to commit crimes by promises of money. <...> As experience shows, Ukrainian special services are behind the organization of such crimes. Employees or their accomplices, using various methods of psychological manipulation, mislead citizens and provoke them. illegal actions”, the ministry stated.

The Interior Ministry added that there were cases where fraudsters first stole funds from citizens and then offered to return the stolen money on the condition that certain tasks were performed, such as setting fire or blowing up infrastructure or of police cars. “Several people were intimidated. The caller posed as a police officer and claimed that a criminal case was opened against the person for financing the Ukrainian armed forces, and they risk criminal liability. To avoid this, the appellant suggested the commission of the crime. or acts of terrorism. Currently, the police are investigating all the facts and criminal proceedings have been opened for prison terms of up to 20 years,” the agency said.

The Ministry of the Interior urges citizens not to give in to provocations that encourage criminal acts. “The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia urges citizens to remain vigilant and avoid contacting unknown persons by phone or other means of communication. If you do, be skeptical of any information you receive from them and verify it through official sources. If you are offered to commit a crime against money, as a solution to some problems, or under any other pretext, it is essential to immediately end the communication and report the incident to the law enforcement agencies. Remember that committing such illegal acts will inevitably lead to the dock, negatively affects your life and that of your loved ones”, concluded the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.