The editor-in-chief of the Sapa project was detained after searches in Vladikavkaz.

Security forces in Vladikavkaz conducted a search of the editorial office of the Telegram channel "Sapa" this morning. The Investigative Committee reported the arrest of the project's editor-in-chief, Alina Dzhikaeva, and a police officer from Makhachkala.

The project reported the search of the "Sapa" office in Vladikavkaz at around 5:00 PM Moscow time today. At that time, the editorial staff was unavailable "for six hours."

"Journalists reported that unknown individuals in civilian clothes entered the building this morning. They began conducting a search," the Telegram channel "Sapa 15" reported at 4:55 PM Moscow time. The same report noted that the project's representatives did not know the reason for the investigative actions.

The press service of the Federal Investigative Committee reported on the results of a search in Vladikavkaz at 7:08 p.m. Moscow time. According to the agency, Sapa editor-in-chief Alina Dzhikaeva and an operational duty officer of the Makhachkala Department of Internal Affairs have been detained in connection with a case of trading official information, which is being investigated in the capital.

According to investigators, no later than July 2020, Dzhikaeva agreed with a Makhachkala police officer to provide her with information about incidents and operational situations in Dagestan and North Ossetia. The information, which the Interior Ministry officer provided to her for a monetary reward, contained "personal data of citizens." Over five years, from July 2020 to June 2025, the officer received more than 250,000 rubles, according to a report from the Investigative Committee's information center.

Searchs were conducted not only in Vladikavkaz but also in Makhachkala, "at the places of residence and work" of the suspects, the Investigative Committee specified. During the searches, law enforcement officers seized documents and electronic storage devices.

"As part of the criminal investigation, the suspects will be transported to Moscow for investigative actions," the Investigative Committee noted.