25 May 2004 09:33
Traffic policemen detained in Moscow over suspect car deals
[Presenter] A fresh police turncoats case has been opened. The Moscow traffic police are now in the middle of a
corruption scandal. Our correspondent Marina Maksimova has the details.
[Correspondent] Four high-ranking police officers from Moscow have been arrested in the course of an investigation
into illegal vehicle deals. They led a group which dealt with thefts of vehicles, with sales [of the vehicles] and with
making the business look legal.
The police officers and those, who helped them, stole foreign-made cars and lorries, and then changed their engine
numbers in underground workshops. After that, the vehicles were registered and sold very often at 30 per cent of their
market price with all the buyers realizing that the vehicles had been stolen: the police officers did not try to conceal
it.
However, the turncoats' business was successful. They compensated for the low prices with a heavy volume of
sales. Preliminary estimates suggest that the criminals were selling four or five vehicles a day.
[Presenter] The operation aimed at detaining corrupt policemen is still under way. Arrests and searches will continue
today within the framework of the investigation, the Russian Interior Ministry's internal affairs service has
said.
The number of those detained in the case has risen to eight people, Interfax news agency said. There are top
officials among the arrested.
Extensive searches were carried out in the Moscow Region towns of Pushkino and Reutovo in the early hours of 25
May.
[In a report at 0555 gmt on 25 May, Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian, said that central offices of the
traffic police directorate of Moscow's Main Interior Directorate had been searched on 24 May and that documents
were seized.]
[Ekho Moskvy radio] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
