The Ipatovsky District Court began considering a criminal case against members of an organized criminal group engaged in the theft of grain and fertilizers belonging to Stavropol Runo LLC. Depending on their role and involvement, they are accused of theft causing damage on an especially large scale (part 4 of article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In total, 55 people participated in the thefts, including two traffic police officers, as well as farm workers. If the court finds them guilty, they face up to ten years in prison and heavy fines.
According to the case file, the criminal group was created in 2017 by two traffic police officers “with the aim of stealing and subsequent sale of mineral fertilizers and grain crops of Stavropol Runo LLC.” In addition to the police, it included employees of the society, including agronomists and combine operators of the Stavropol Run.
As the investigation, which was conducted in the department of the Investigative Committee of Russia (TFR) for the Stavropol Territory, established, the employees of the company “at the direction of the police officers set lower rates for applying mineral fertilizers to the soil of the fields on the field units, entered false information in the fertilizer consumption logs and turned off the video recording devices” .
After that, they took out and unloaded the stolen mineral fertilizers and grain “in trucks with false state registration plates.” And before the management of the LLC they reported on the field work carried out.
In total, from 2017 to 2019, more than 1 thousand tons of fertilizers and more than 2 thousand tons of wheat were stolen in this way during the harvesting campaign. As a result, the amount of damage to the limited liability company amounted to more than 35 million rubles.
As specified in the prosecutor’s office of the Stavropol Territory, all members of the criminal group were charged with nine episodes of theft, “by an organized group of persons, causing damage on an especially large scale” (paragraphs “a”, “b”, part 4 of article 158 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
According to the department, at the first meeting, the identity of the defendants was established. At the next stage, the public prosecutor will read the indictment.
If the defendants are found guilty, depending on their role and degree of participation, they face up to ten years in prison with heavy fines.
Police officers, according to the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs, have already been dismissed from the bodies after checking the internal security department of the regional central office.
