“Officers of the Trans-Baikal Linear Administration on Transport of the Russian MIA, together with officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in the region, the East Siberian Transport Prosecutor's Office in the city of Chita and the Chita Customs, have suppressed the activities of an organized group whose members are suspected of smuggling illegally obtained particularly valuable timber.

It was preliminarily established that the group had been created by the head of one of the logging enterprises. In practice, the commercial company obtained the lease of a forest plot, provided that foreign investment were made to develop the region's infrastructure and create jobs for Russian citizens. In practice, labor activity was carried out by foreign citizens who, with the knowledge of the management, without appropriate permits, cut down especially valuable tree species.

According to the investigation, the suspects managed to illegally harvest more than 550 cubic meters of cedar and process it for further illegal smuggling. The accomplices transported about 360 cubic meters of timber across the state border of the Russian Federation, documenting cedar boards as boards made of pine or larch. The material damage exceeded 13 million rubles.

Investigators of the Trans-Baikal Linear Administration on Transport of the Russian MIA instituted criminal cases on the features of offenses stipulated by articles 260 and 226.1 of the RF Criminal Code. Placement to custody was selected as the preventive measure for two foreign nationals. The head of the logging organization has also faced charges.

With the participation of the Rosgvardia officers, ten searches were carried out in the residences of the group members and in the timber storage centers, during which logging equipment, a large amount of wood, as well as money and documents of evidentiary value for the criminal cases were seized.

Measures are being taken aimed at establishing possible accomplices and possible additional episodes of the illegal activities,” said the official representative of the Russian MIA Irina Volk.