DUSHANBE, July 8, 2011, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan’s Ministry of Interior has not yet received information from our Russian colleagues about the robbery in which Tajik nationals were reportedly involved, the Interior Ministry staff chief Tohir Normatov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

“We have known about that incident from Russian media outlets,” said Normatov, “The fact that our citizens are involved in serious crimes in Russia evokes concern.”

According to the statistical data from Tajik MoI, 150 robberies were committed by Tajik nationals in Russia last year, which is 0.61 percent of 24,500 robberies reported in the Russian Federation in 2010.  Uzbek nationals, for example, committed 250 robberies in Russia last year.

We will recall that nineteen persons, including seventeen nationals of Tajikistan, have been detained in Moscow on suspicion of having been involved in robbery.  According to the Moscow law enforcement authorities, a group of robbers numbering 19 persons burst into warehouse located in the southeast of Moscow on July 3.

“Threatening guards with weapons, the robbers tied up them and attempted to take commodities out of the warehouse but were detained by police,” the source at the Moscow police directorate said. According to him, seventeen of the robbers proved to be Tajik nationals, one was Russian citizen and one more was citizen of Azerbaijan.  One handmade grenade, one Osa traumatic pistol, three bullets and 1.52 grams of heroin were confiscated from them, the source added.

Criminal proceedings have been instituted against the detained robbers under the provisions of Article 162 (4) of Russia’s Penal Code – robbery; an investigation is under way.  The robbers could get a sentence of 15 years in jail.

According to Russian media outlets, the ringleader is Tajik national nicknamed “Mir,” 25, and Armenian national nicknamed “Migel,” 31, was finding places for robbery.