Police officers in Kamchatka have detained a 63-year-old alleged criminal overseer and his two accomplices on suspicion of running an extremist prison subculture network across the region.
The simultaneous arrests took place in the regional capital of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and the nearby town of Yelizovo. Officers targeted members connected to AUE, an organization recognized as extremist and banned in Russia.
According to regional law enforcement agencies, the 63-year-old main suspect has multiple previous convictions for serious and particularly serious crimes. Authorities said he held the status of smotryashchy, or regional crime boss, and actively promoted thieves' concepts while trying to recruit local residents and prison inmates into the criminal subculture.
Role of accomplices and seized evidence
His two accomplices, aged 38 and 61, also have extensive criminal records. Investigators said the pair carried out instructions from the leader, enforced prisoner rules and thieves' concepts, collected funds for a central criminal kitty known as an obshchak, and attended criminal gatherings.
During searches at the suspects' residences, officers seized mobile phones, 500,000 rubles in cash, bayonet knives, and ammunition for a non-lethal traumatic pistol. Operatives also recovered handwritten notes containing excerpts of the criminal code and items displaying symbols of the banned organization.
The joint operation involved criminal investigation officers from the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service, and the Federal Penitentiary Service. Tactical support was provided by SOBR special forces from the regional National Guard.
Operational footage and ongoing prosecution
Footage released to news website Lenta.ru by the regional police department showed armed special forces shouting as they pinned suspects to the pavement during home raids. The video showed tattooed suspects held against walls as a police service dog searched for prohibited items.
The Kamchatka department of the Investigative Committee of Russia told Lenta.ru that criminal cases have been opened for organizing and participating in an extremist organization. The three suspects are being held in a temporary detention facility while officials decide on their formal arrest.
In a separate case in the Tyumen region, a resident was previously sentenced to 22 years in a penal colony for occupying a supreme position in the criminal hierarchy, organizing extremist activity, and extortion.
