Dmitry Aleshin, a suspected member of the Orekhovskaya criminal gang who evaded law enforcement for nearly 30 years, has been arrested in Moscow.
The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow ordered Aleshin to be held in pre-trial detention until October 7. Video footage released by the press service of Moscow courts showed him escorted by guards as the judge read the detention order.
Investigators accuse Aleshin of involvement in a criminal community, extortion, and the 1998 murder of investigator Yuri Kerez in the Moscow region. According to police, Aleshin acted on orders from gang leaders to pressure local business owners and demand monthly protection payments.
His 52-year-old brother, Alexander Aleshin, was also detained alongside him. Authorities said the brothers spent 28 years hiding from law enforcement while living under forged documents. Both men belonged to a crew led by Dmitry Belkin, a gang leader known as Belok who was later sentenced to life in prison.
Investigator targeted by criminal syndicate
The charges stem from the murder of Kerez, who became the first officer in Russia to bring a criminal case under Article 210 of the Russian Criminal Code against leaders of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group. The legislation specifically targets the organization of a criminal community.
Seeking to stop the investigation, gang leaders ordered a hitman to ambush Kerez outside his home one evening in 1998. The investigator suffered fatal injuries in the attack.
Following the killing, Russian law enforcement agencies launched a sweeping crackdown that dismantled the Orekhovskaya crime syndicate. The contract killer, Oleg Pronin, known by the nickname Al Capone, was convicted of carrying out the attack and sentenced to 24 years in a penal colony.
Pronin completed his prison sentence and was released in 2023. He currently resides in Crimea and works as a VIP taxi driver, while the Aleshin brothers now face judicial proceedings in Moscow.
