Suspects in attempted sabotage in Kuban detained

Security forces detained three people in Kuban suspected of setting fire to relay cabinets on the railway and preparing to set fire to cellular communication equipment. An investigation has been launched under articles on a terrorist act and an attempt at sabotage.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported, in the regions of southern Russia, after the start of the military operation in Ukraine, arson attacks on railway and cellular communication equipment have repeatedly occurred. Thus, on July 9, the FSB reported that a resident of the Krasnodar Territory, detained for setting fire to cellular communication equipment, was taken into custody.

Two Russian citizens (born in 1992 and 1996), as well as a native of Central Asia, born in 1998, were detained in the Krasnodar Territory, suspected of preparing arson attacks on transport and communication facilities "on instructions from the Ukrainian special services," the FSB reported today on its website.

According to the agency, the suspects "entered into correspondence with the curator in a Telegram channel to find illegal earnings" and, on his instructions, "made an unsuccessful attempt to set fire" to a relay cabinet on the railway.

Information was received about the planned arson of a facility of one of the Russian cellular operators

"The perpetrators were identified, detained and convicted of the crime on the spot. During their development, information was obtained about an arson plot being prepared at a facility of one of the Russian mobile operators, which could lead to the termination of communication services to a significant number of subscribers," the publication says.

Criminal cases have been opened under Part 3 of Article 30, Part 1 of Article 281 (attempted sabotage) and Part 1 of Article 205 (terrorist act) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the suspects face up to 20 years in prison, the press release says.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported two detainees

Information about the incident was received by the duty unit of the Novorossiysk linear department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for transport from employees of the North Caucasus Railway, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported today.

Traces of burning and partial damage to two relay cabinets were detected

"A message was received that traces of burning and partial damage to two relay cabinets ensuring the safety of train traffic were detected near the Varenikovskaya station. The investigative task force that arrived at the scene recorded signs of intentional damage to railway equipment. The incident did not cause any disruptions to the train schedule," the publication on the ministry's website says.

At the same time, the department mentioned only two detainees. "Employees of the transport police and the regional FSB Directorate of Russia quickly identified and detained two suspects. They had previously been prosecuted for committing crimes of varying severity. According to available information, the perpetrators committed the illegal act for monetary compensation in cryptocurrency, following the instructions in the messenger of a foreign curator," the report notes.

Recall that criminal cases of arson often feature the typical wording that "unidentified persons" force people to film the arson and then send them to the "customer." Such a plot in a large number of criminal cases suggests that investigators have found a simple way to prove crimes, said Roman Melnichenko, a candidate of legal sciences, earlier.

At the same time, Kuban sentences for sabotage cases have become an example for courts in other regions. Thus, in April, the appellate court doubled the sentences of teenagers from Novosibirsk in a case of sabotage on the railway, so that the final sentence would correspond to the sentences handed down in Kuban for similar cases.

The teenagers tried to get the sentences mitigated, and a representative of the prosecutor's office demanded that the sentences be equalized with the average terms that are imposed by courts in other regions for similar cases - from 11 years of imprisonment. The teenagers' parents are convinced that the case is falsified, similar to cases in the southern regions of Russia, where relay cabinets on the railway have been repeatedly set on fire.