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Court remands Russia's 'GTA gang' members in custody until December 28

© TASS/Gennady Khamelyanin

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. The Moscow Regional Court on Wednesday remanded in custody until December 28 members of the so-called GTA gang, accused of a series of murders of drivers on the roads of Moscow, the Moscow Region and the Kaluga Region in 2012-2014, Vera Tabashnaya, lawyer of one of the defendants, told TASS.

"None of the defendants was against extension of custody and they left the prosecutor’s request to the discretion of the judge. The court granted the request of the prosecutor and remanded all defendants in custody until December 28," Tabashnaya said.

Khazratkhon Dodokhonov, Kholik Subkhanov, Anvar Ulugmuradov, Fazlitdin Khasanov, Sherozdzhon Kodirov, Mirzomavlon Mirzosharipov, Abdumukim Mamadchonov, Umar Khasanov and Zafardzhon Gulyamov are in the dock.

The nine natives of Central Asia are accused of murdering 17 people and two attempts to kill, as well as banditry, robberies, illegal production and storage of weapons and theft of documents.

Hearings on merits have been appointed for July 19.

Charges

According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, in March 2012, Ibaidullo Subkhanov created a gang in the Moscow Region, involving at least 15 Central Asian states’ natives, for attacks on people.

Earlier the Prosecutor General’s Office noted that in Moscow and the Moscow Region, the gang, with the use of their firearms, made 15 armed assaults associated with murders of 17 people and attempts to kill two.

The defendants attacked drivers on large roads in the Moscow Region. At night they used homemade caltrops to damage car tires, forcing drivers to stop, after which they killed the affected persons and seized their property.

Gang leader Ibaidullo Subkhanov, who offered armed resistance when he was being detained in November 2014, was killed. An investigation regarding four gang participants who escaped and were put on an international wanted list continues. Two of them have already been detained and are in custody in Tajikistan.

Officers of the Russian Investigative Committee, Interior Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB) were involved in efforts to catch the gang, dubbed "GTA gang" because its activity was similar to the eponymous computer game. Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said robbery was the motive for the attacks.

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