“Operatives of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) together with officers of the regional Department of the FSS of Russia detained five local residents, three of whom are minors. They are suspected of cruelty to animals committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy using sadistic methods.

It was preliminarily established that the crimes were committed by three young men and two young women aged from 16 to 19. Through an online private classifieds service, they purchased pet cats and then brutally killed them in a variety of ways. Four such facts are currently known.

An investigator of the Investigative Department of the MIA of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) instituted a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Part 2, Article 245 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The defendants have faced charges and various preventive measures have been taken against them,” said the Spokesperson for the Russian MIA Irina Volk.