In Astrakhan, 11 customs officers convicted for frauds with customs declarations as criminal grouping

The court in the Astrakhan Region has sentenced 17 local residents, including 11 employees of the Krasnoyarsk customs post of the Astrakhan Customs, accused of contraband committed as an organized grouping, said the spokeswoman of the Regional Prosecutor's Office. Eight of them were awarded with real custody terms.

The Court found it proved that Igor Okhanov, head of the division of the Krasnoyarsk customs post, set up an organized criminal grouping, which included 10 employees of the customs post and 6 civilians, which made cargo customs declarations for citizens of Kazakhstan on behalf of the fictitious Russian entrepreneurs.

To this end, employees of one of brokerage companies made false documents on behalf of entrepreneurs, while the actually transported goods were different by weight and descriptions from those declared.

The customs officers were found guilty of abuse of power, while civilians - of complicity in committing the crime. Currently, two other customs officer, also members of the grouping, are on the federal search list.

Igor Okhanov was sentenced to 3 years of imprisonment in a colony-settlement, and 10 other customs officers - to 2.5 years of colony-settlement and 2 year of suspended sentence with the probation period of 3 years. All the customs officers were also deprived of the right to hold state posts for 2 years. The civilians were sentenced to freedom deprivation for 1.5-2 years. Three of them will serve his sentence in a colony-settlement; while the remaining three were sentenced conditionally with the probation term of 2 years, the RIA "Avers" reports.