Russian police officers arrest 44 suspects for arson and sabotage for a week – Society & Culture

MOSCOW, December 26th. /TASS/. Russian Interior Ministry officials arrested 44 people in several Russian regions last week on suspicion of arson and sabotage of administrative buildings, the press service told TASS.

“In recent days, we have observed an increase in the number of deliberate crimes related to attempts to set fire to and blow up administrative buildings and police cars, as well as to destabilize the operations of banking and postal institutions in several regions of the country. Such crimes have been committed, among others, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as in the Moscow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Tver, Tula, Pskov, Krasnoyarsk and Altai regions 26.55 illegal incidents were registered and 44 suspects were arrested by officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies,” the press service said.

The authority found that in most cases the perpetrators were elderly people. At the same time, according to the Interior Ministry, these crimes were also committed by younger people: schoolchildren and students looking for easy money. “It turned out that the suspects were acting on instructions from anonymous superiors that they received by phone or via messaging apps. This involved several criminal activities. As a rule, the perpetrators were incited to commit crimes by promises of money.” <...> Experience shows that the Ukrainian special services are behind the organization of such crimes. “Their associates or accomplices use various methods of psychological manipulation to mislead citizens and provoke them to commit unlawful acts,” the ministry explained.

The Interior Ministry added that there have been cases where fraudsters first stole funds from citizens and then offered to return the stolen money on the condition that certain tasks were carried out, such as arson or blowing up infrastructure or police cars. “Several people were intimidated. The caller identified himself as a police officer and claimed that a criminal case had been opened against the person for funding the Ukrainian Armed Forces and that he was being prosecuted. To avoid this, the caller suggested committing a crime.” Criminal terrorist proceedings against the perpetrators are currently underway. The relevant articles of the Russian Criminal Code provide for prison sentences of up to 20 years,” the agency said.

The Interior Ministry calls on citizens not to give in to provocations that encourage crime. “The Russian Interior Ministry calls on citizens to remain vigilant and avoid contact with unknown people by telephone or other means of communication. If you do this, be skeptical of any information you receive from them and verify it against official sources. If you are offered to commit a… If you commit crimes for money, as a solution to certain problems, or under any other pretext, it is important to stop communication immediately and report the incident to law enforcement. Remember that committing such illegal acts will inevitably lead to prosecution and will have a negative impact on your life and that of your loved ones,” the Russian Interior Ministry concluded.