Investigation of a criminal case against members of a group of car hijackers was completed in Irkutsk. Investigators of the GA for Investigation of the MIA of Russia GA for the Irkutsk Region have collected evidence exposing the guilt of the defendants in 15 cases of theft of expensive Japanese-made cars, as well as the use of obviously false state number plates.

The unlawful activity of the group members was stopped by officers of the Division to counter organized crime of the Criminal Investigation Administration of the MIA of Russia GA in December 2018. The defendants, who turned to be Irkutsk citizens aged 29 to 39, including the previously convicted group organizer, were detained by operatives red-handed while transporting a stolen car from Zima to Irkutsk. During searches in their apartments and garages, law enforcement officers seized expensive equipment for reading car key signals, devices for suppressing the GPS signal, as well as 3 stolen cars that were in the so-called quarantine garages. They committed thefts of cars on the territory of Irkutsk, Zima, Sayansk, Usolye-Sibirskoye, Cheremkhovo, Tulun, Tayshet and Shelekhovo. They were only interested in cars with auto-start manufactured in 2010-2018: Lexus, Toyota Rav-4, Toyota Land Cruiser - 200, Toyota Camry.

During the investigation, it was established that the defendants had organized monitoring, finding cars in advance, tracking their permanent parking place, and checking the area for availability of outdoor surveillance cameras. Then, with the help of special equipment, the engine was brought into working condition. It should be noted, that thefts were committed only at night. For safe transportation of cars to garages for temporary storage, obviously false state registration signs were installed on foreign cars. After which the vehicles were sold. In this case, precautionary measures were applied: masks were put on the faces, gloves were worn on the hands, and after committing unlawful acts, they got rid of their shoes. In order to coordinate each other’s actions, radio stations were used.

During the preliminary investigation, more than 50 witnesses were interviewed, radio engineering, handwriting, and tracological examinations were carried out confirming the involvement of the group of persons in committing the unlawful acts.

The materials of criminal cases instituted on the grounds of crimes stipulated by Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Theft”, Article 326 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Forgery of the state registration plates of a vehicle” in relation to the organizer and another member of the group with an approved indictment were sent to the Leninsky District Court for consideration on the merits. Another suspect concluded a pre-trial agreement on cooperation with the investigation, the materials of the criminal cases brought against him were moved into a separate proceeding.